Fates
by Pappillon
Summary: Coal and Pearl roamed the land freely, until interrupted by White Diamond. (Original characters were made by Logicandinstinct on Tumblr!)
1. Chapter 1

The sun came up and burned the sky red with the spent gunpowder and yesterday's violence. Even in the mountains, far away from the city, Coal observed the remnants of the battle inside the silence. That morning, the birds didn't sing, nor did the trees whisper, but the air held still as Coal and Pearl followed an Agate higher up along the mountain path.

"It's only a little further, Miss Coal. Thank you so much for coming to help."

"Of course, Agate. Please don't worry about the distance. We're quite used to walking."

"Still, thank you so much, Ma'am. We were so glad you happened to be nearby." Agate's voice came out uneven, and she wiped around her eyes. Despite one of Coal's bags against her back, she kept a steady, quick pace. Some of the contents inside it clinked each time she took a large step forward and her white bun bobbled with each determined stride.

"I'm glad we could be of service." Coal's feet tapped against the flattened Earth of the path and all three continued.

They reached the village when the enormous sundial in the middle of town read about seven in the morning. All of the farmers and the few business owners had stopped to circle around the Agate with numerous gashes stretching across her light pink arm, sitting crooked upon the ground.

"She fell down the mountain when we were cutting wood—" the one at Coal's side had told her this once before, but recounted the story again. "I think she broke her arm, and she was bleeding—" They came closer to the injured woman.

The crowd moved to give Coal enough space to get through, even though she towered over all of them and could already see. Remaining still, the Agate inhaled and exhaled slowly as her body quivered. Upon the dirt and the mat beneath her, a puddle of dark blood accumulated, dyeing part of her stark white hair dangerous crimson.

"Pearl—" Coal set all of her bags down and kneeled in the dirt next to the body, who inched closer and closer to becoming a corpse. "Can you please prepare a serum for her pain? I'm going to work on her arm."

"I'm on it." Pearl began to gather ingredients while Coal took two very straight sticks from her bag and set them near the Agate's broken arm.

"May I have some water?" Someone handed her a glass bottle and a wooden bowl. Pearl poured some fluid into the container she had produced from their own baggage, and Coal worked with her herbs and vials of powder, pouring exact measurements into her hand before tossing them into the bowl. Upon adding the water, a small cloud of sugary purple expanded from it, and the crowd gasped. Pearl handed her a fistful of gauze, some of which she had already taken and shoved into the Agate's mouth.

Working quickly, both Coal and Pearl affixed the long and slender sticks to the Agate's arm. The smaller gem held them in place while the larger ran the gauze through the paste and wrapped up the limb. As gently as possible, Coal set the arm into a natural position.

Even through the gauze and the pain medication, the Agate screamed, and Coal and Pearl continued as if she lay there tranquilly. Everyone in the crowd covered their mouths.

Once they had set the arm, Coal took in a very deep breath and held both of her hands over it. Exhaling slowly, she traced her palms downward from the top of the shoulder to the wrist and performed this ritual numerous times until the bandages began to pop and glitter. Like a sparkler, they gave off heat, and through the pastel smoke wafting upward, the pain left the Agate's face until she lay still. When the haze grew white, she opened her eyes and looked directly at Coal.

"How do you feel, Agate?"

She sat straight up and spit the gauze into her lap as the crowd remained silent. Most of them didn't bother to breathe. Agate wiped the tears from her eyes and the saliva from her mouth and swallowed to flush the salt from her throat. "I thought for sure I was done for."

"Sis!" The Agate that lead Coal and Pearl into the mountains rushed forward and embraced her. She returned the gesture with two perfectly normal arms and a cast that broke clean off.

The entire crowd applauded, chanting for Coal and Pearl. When they finally died down, one of the elders raised her hands, announcing, "This calls for a celebration!"

"Oh, you don't have to-"

"Nonsense, Miss Coal." Any protest that followed came too late, as the villagers gathered food, and barrels of alcohol, and music began to lifted Pearl and passed her around, who laughed and begged them to stop, shouting playfully each time she changed hands.

Once the party began, it didn't stop for several hours. While all the gems, especially Pearl, danced, drank, and sang, Coal sat with the village elders and watched.

Several inhabitants came to thank her, always bringing some kind of offering in their striped hands. Coal shook her head each time, but they insisted, filling her bag with uncooked potatoes, carrots, corn, spices, soap, shampoo, and many bottles of wine.

"You're too generous."

"What do you mean?" they said. "You saved Agate's life! We would have been heart-broken if she hadn't made it." Then they shoved a loaf of bread into one of her sacks, which already spilled over. "You let us know if you need anything more, Miss Coal."

The Agate, who only a few hours ago sat at Death's door, came with a bashful look upon her face and something in her hands. She took a knee before Coal.

"Madame, I can't thank you enough for what you've done for me."

Although several small cuts still covered her body, none of them bled. The blood had been cleaned from her flesh and washed from her hair, making her look more like she fell down in the street than off of a mountain.

Coal placed her hand upon Agate's crown. "Please don't worry about it. I'm just glad I was able to help you."

"Will you at least accept my gift, Madame?"

Inside the bag sat a number of gold coins. Coal heard them jingle as she approached.

"I can't, Agate. I won't take that from you. I don't have much use for money anyway."

"Well—" Her cheeks burned pink. "Is there anything at all I can do to repay you?"

"I suppose, if you must, I would appreciate a lock of your hair. But even that won't be necessary."

"That's all you want, Miss Coal?"

"Yes, but only if you wish to offer it."

"Please, give me a few minutes." Agate excused herself and ran back into the crowd, not returning for a while. Within the party, the shouting grew louder until she came back. Upon a beautiful golden cloth, Agate had set a long braid of her hair, which had been freshly cut, stopping just around her jaw.

"Oh no. I only wanted a lock." One of Coal's gentle fingers traced along the thick white braid. It resembled snow in fine strands, and reflected an incredible luster.

"Please don't worry, Madame. It's only hair. Within a few months, it'll be back to the same length."

"Truly, Agate?"

"Truly."

"Then I'll accept your beautiful braid. Thank you."

"No, thank you, Ma'am. You saved my life."

They embraced, and Coal and Pearl made preparations to leave before all of the Agates began giving up their hair as gifts. The villagers asked if they wanted to stay, but Coal mentioned they needed to head out. The Agates asked if they needed anything else, but Coal replied that her bags were already full. They asked if they could help her get down the mountain, but Coal already knew the way. So the pair left the party, heading down the same path they had climbed hours ago.

"That Agate really gave you a lot of hair. What will you use it for?"

"I haven't decided yet." Coal sighed. "I had a feeling she would cut off a lot. It really is lovely, though. Did you get a look?"

"I did. I'm sure she was grateful you saved her life."

"It wasn't so difficult."

"Not for you, My Lady."

The bags shuffled around them as they walked carefully down the rocky path. Most of them were affixed to Coal's shoulders and back, but Pearl carried a full rucksack as well. This time, the bottles didn't clink against one another. None had enough space to move.

"Where will we head next?"

Coal stopped walking for a moment. "Well, we haven't been to town for a while, and it's been some time since we've seen Topaz. Why don't we do that?"

"If we were going to town, why didn't we accept that Agate's money?"

Coal touched Pearl's head gently, halfway to a slap, but harmless. "We don't need her money. That's why," and continued walking with her companion grumbling behind her.


	2. Chapter 2

Coal had said 'town' but 'city' would have been more appropriate. Even walking along the path before reaching their destination, both gems could see the sprawling buildings and the palace placed upon the hill where White Diamond, empress and 'unifier' of them all, lived and ruled.

What would have normally been a beautiful city had a perpetual cloud of war over it. The last few years had required peaceful blacksmiths to make weapons over their household wares and brought medics closer to the battlefield. Some had even left the city entirely, which meant more sick and more expensive treatment from those who stayed.

The citizens were quieter than usual that day. Even the enormous marble statues of White Diamond standing before the city wore dour faces, looking down on anyone entering with shadowed eyes. The false diamonds inside their foreheads didn't shine either.

Both versions of White resembled one another to an uncanny degree, but wore different clothing. One presented her in her armor, imposing and war-like as she stood upright with her sword extended. The other had her in thin robes replicated in marble, standing just as erect, but somewhat more welcoming. The artist made her arms extend as if ushering in travelers and citizens who would return as all roads lead back to her kingdom. Despite the informal outfit, White Diamond showed power in her shapely arms, presented as both a goddess of beauty and war.

Coal and Pearl passed, glancing back to them as they walked.

"I'm surprised no one had vandalized those by now."

"Oh, Pearl. I don't think anyone would dare."

"It's awfully tempting, considering her glare. Think about it. You probably wouldn't get caught if you came late enough at night when it was nice and dark, and just—you know, drew a mustache."

"If you were going to risk treason I'd hope you could be more creative than that, but I know that you won't. Right, Pearl?"

"Oh, I would _never_. I'm just saying, if someone _did_ …"

"It wasn't a mistake taking you here, was it?"

"I wouldn't dream of offending our beautiful, sparkling, luminous, luxurious, adamantine, uh…splendid, sparkling, wise, sparkling Diamond! I just love the way her hair resembles an unkempt bush. It really represents her propensity for understanding nature!"

"I don't think she chose what her hair looks like, Pearl."

"She chose not to do anything about it."

Coal laughed and they continued inside the city, where the Quartz guards standing before the marketplace nodded them in after odd glances to one another. No matter how many times Coal and Pearl entered, they would always receive looks of confusion. The guards would welcome them by furrowing their brows at Coal's size, and then at the existence of her Pearl. It wasn't as though many beggars could afford to commission servants, but they never bothered accusing Coal of stealing. Each time, they allowed them into the marketplace, where both would collect more bizarre looks.

The marketplace was as rich in judgement as it was supplies. A sea of multi-colored gems in the midst of buying and selling would all turn in unison to wonder about that enormous woman and her little Pearl. Sometimes their faces would scrunch at the look of their dusty clothes or their naked feet and Coal and Pearl would catch them turning to one another, clinging in groups and whispering about the larger's height, or the state of their clothes, or what sort of gem Coal was. Pearl would scrunch up her pointed nose back, just as offended, and they would continue further in.

As promised by the wealthy appearance of White Diamond's statues, her city contained everything from fruit to meat stalls, pharmacists, cobblers, carpenters, tailors, and street food vendors, to gemologists who specialized in creating Pearls and other such service gems. They passed one such Pearl on display, white as milk with visibly smooth skin and a tuft of hair similar to White Diamond's. The sign next to her read that she was soon to be sent to the palace, but the shop owners could create a Pearl to resemble whoever commissioned her for any gem of any color for the reasonable price of 1000 gold pieces. In passing, Coal took Pearl by the hand as the miniature White Diamond looked on, expression blank and ready to have any and all assumptions grafted onto it. Her creator sat beneath the shade of their tent, staring unabashedly at both Coal and Pearl.

Toward the end of the market, where gems stopped selling and began living, lay their destination—an inn run by a Topaz with enough back problems for three gems. She stood outside as Coal and Pearl approached, leaning against the outer wall of her establishment as if it could bear the pain for her, so tall that she nearly trumped its height. She sparkled and greeted them with a wave as she walked toward them upon stocky legs.

"I was just thinking of you two!"

Unlike many gems, Topaz was nearly as tall as Coal, making her fit well inside her embrace as they met. Despite Coal's gentle hug, Topaz stole and crushed her in her enormous arms, nearly lifting her from the ground. "How have you been?"

"We've been fine!" Coal managed with collapsed lungs. "How have you been?"

"I've been hanging in there. You know with this silly war going on, I haven't been getting as much business, but I've been doing well enough." Topaz released Coal and looked at Pearl. "Don't go thinking I forgot about you."

"You better not have."

Topaz accepted Pearl a little more carefully, succeeding in picking her up and not flattening her organs. Carrying her, she turned to Coal. "Let's go in, shall we? I was just about to put on some tea."

The inside of the inn was as quaint as the outside—small in the salon with a hallway leading from the left side of the house to the guest rooms. Most of the walls held multiple paintings that had been given to her in exchange for a few nights. Some had even been painted onsite by traveling artists, featuring Topaz in an array of noble poses. The portraits of her took a particular spot of wall, clustered together and presenting her in various outfits she didn't actually own. In one of them, the artists had curled her short crème colored hair and put her in a gown White Diamond might wear. Topaz wore both a playful grin and a laurel of golden leaves—the truth being that they had used a bed sheet and foliage from outside to replicate the look.

Amongst the paintings, she had pinned pressed flowers to the walls and poems her guests had written. She even owned a tapestry of nothing in particular but pieces of nature. A rainbow of threads existed within it of different colored flowers and plants that formed a fractal.

Coal tended to stare at that one for at least a few minutes whenever they came. Topaz told her that she had wanted it so badly, she let the gem who owned it stay for a week. She wondered if it was stolen, but accepted it anyway. Fortunately, no one ever came for it, or her.

Topaz went into the kitchen to put on the tea, which was tucked in the back of the salon, while Coal and Pearl sat at the table in the center of the floor. It stood low, prompting them to tuck their legs beneath it while resting upon the cushions. Coal's nearly didn't fit, but she made do.

"Where did you two come in from?" Topaz asked as she pulled multi-colored cups from the cupboards. Each of which had different origin stories to tell through their steam, no doubt.

"We were just wandering around, really. We helped a hurt Agate earlier, but we didn't stay in their village for long."

"How lucky that was! Their village didn't have any medics?"

"I'm sure they must have."

"Ah, well. No one can top your powers."

"They gave us a lot of goods too." Pearl added.

"We'd be happy to give you some, Topaz. I don't think there's any way we could eat all of it before it goes bad."

"Maybe _you_ can't." Pearl leaned back, propping herself up by her slender arms.

Topaz laughed. "We know, Pearl. We've all seen you eat." She approached and set large glasses before either of them—Pearl's bright red and Coal's a tall orange glass meant for beer. Where she would sit, Topaz left a short but voluminous cup and returned to the kitchen to wait on the soon-to-boil water. "But really though, you're both alright? I worry about you out there."

"Oh, we're fine. Thank you, Topaz."

"You haven't run into any soldiers, have you?"

"No, not recently. Why do you ask?"

"Well, you hear stories all the time about gems being stopped on the road out of suspicion, or of fights breaking out between soldiers and civilians. I don't know." Topaz brought the tea. "Apparently, it's supposed to be over soon. White Diamond made an announcement the other day that she had just one village left before this campaign is over. I wonder when she'll own the entire world."

Coal leaned forward as Topaz sat down, pouring into each of their glances, beginning with hers. "Do you remember which village?"

"Oh, I think it was the Lapises," she moved on to Pearl's cup. "I didn't even know they had a village, but I guess they live pretty far out. Luckily she has that dragon…"

There was a pause in which all three sat still and their cups bled steam. No one drank, and Coal eventually answered, "If these tribes just wanted to join of their own accord, fine, but she shows up with her army under the guise of 'peaceful negotiations' and what choice do they really have?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean, but I have to say, my village turned out the better under White's management. It's definitely a lot wealthier, and hey, I ended up living here. I don't think we would have met unless it was for her. Besides that, she's a Diamond and—"

"Please stop. She's not better than everyone else just because she's a Diamond."

"Would you fight her?"

"I wouldn't fight _anyone_. I'm just saying that it's questionable she wants to unify all of these villages and have gems work together as equals—which they are, yet she'll be the first to say that her subjects are beneath her."

"When has she said that?"

"She doesn't need to say it. The pompous art around this city says it all for her."

Topaz laughed. "You're such a hippy. You _are_ right, though. Those statues are pretty pompous. I wonder where she got them done. I'd love to have one commissioned for the inn."

The three laughed and moved onto other subjects over several cups of tea. As the afternoon transitioned into night, they caught up while Topaz recalled some of her more bizarre guests, and the visitors were eventually allowed to inhabit one of the vacant rooms.

As per their agreement, Coal and Pearl assisted Topaz with her back. Inside her personal room (which was also full of art), she lay upon her stomach as the two of them worked.

Pearl applied the salve she had taken from her swollen bag of goods and Coal activated it. The warmth from her hands dried it into her skin as they simultaneously swept away the pain. Coal and Pearl worked for about half an hour before finishing and Topaz rose without issue from the floor.

"You two are simply magical. You really have to come back more often."

"As much as you like," Coal replied. "Thank you for allowing us to stay here."

"Yeah, thanks," said Pearl.

The three of them left Topaz's room and prepared dinner, adequately stuffing their faces before bed. Then, both full and tired, Coal collapsed onto their mat on the floor with Pearl tucked into her side. Neither spoke outside the normal goodnights and slept like stones on an untouched mountain path.


	3. Chapter 3

Coal awoke with one large yellow hand on her shoulder, shaking her gently but also a little desperately. From her place upon the floor, she came face-to-face with Topaz as she sat up.

"Is everything alright?"

"Umm, yeah," but Topaz's furrowed brows and mouth bent out-of-shape suggested otherwise. "Everything is fine, but some soldiers are here and they need this space."

Coal frowned and touched her shoulder.

"I know. I'm sorry. I wish you could stay longer, but—"

"No. I don't want to get you in trouble. We'll go."

Only a few items were scattered about the floor, and after waking Pearl with a kiss to the forehead, both cleaned quickly and quietly. From the outside, laughter echoed around the halls amongst muffled conversation that Coal and Pearl walked into upon organizing the room.

Dressed in yesterday's rags, the traveling pair brought silence upon emerging. The soldiers—white Quartzes dressed in shined armor—paused to stare at that large beggar and her dirty Pearl. Both looked them up and down, searching for grime between their toes to filth in their hair that may not have been there. Twins in just about every way, they wore similar looks of disgust that worsened when Coal and Pearl hugged Topaz goodbye.

"Thank you again," Coal said.

"Don't let them keep you down," added Pearl.

On their way out, both parties exchanged brief glares. Neither soldier came to words and their laughter resumed as the travelers walked back to the forest, where the trees wouldn't mock them for being homeless.

From that day onward, battles lasted well into the night and the sun shone permanently red. No one could escape the haze that built higher and higher with each passing hour and the air grew thick with the constant smell of blood and fire.

Coal and Pearl slept higher and higher into the mountains, hiding themselves beneath blankets of leaves and taking refuge behind bushes when they could. The color of their skin used to protect them well enough. They would blend into the night without being spotted by robbers or soldiers, but now that the noise raged from dusk till dawn and lights exploded across the ink-black sky, neither could hide as well.

"Do you think all this fighting will really be over soon?" Pearl asked Coal one day as they stopped to eat. Both of them sat quietly, cutting up the vegetables for their soup as the blast of cannons echoed throughout the hills. None of the soldiers were nearby, but their hollering travelled well, like a chorus of thousands of miserable voices.

"I doubt they can go on much longer."

Pearl placed her carrots into the bowl and began working on the onions. "Is there anything we can do?"

Coal chewed on her reply as though sampling its flavor. "I doubt any magic can fix this. In fact, I'm sure if we tried to intervene, the problems would become worse. The various forces in this world have all come to push against one another. Throwing our hands into that battle won't do a bit of good. We just have to wait, until one of them cracks, and we'll have a new definition of normal."

Pearl paused for a moment before looking at Coal. She gulped and continued to cut the onions.

"Whatever happens, I promise we'll get through it. Unless we can't. At which point, it's simply fate."

"That's reassuring." Pearl furrowed her brows.

"Reassuring or not—" Coal patted her on the head, "It's the way things are," and continued to slice up the peppers.

That night, both slept early. Finding a section of the forest in which to hide, they huddled together as Coal pulled a blanket of leaves over them. The larger gem wrapped an arm around the smaller and their bodies remained close. As Pearl breathed in and out, she pressed her stone gently into Coal's stomach, above her own gem.

Both remained still.

Light shone through the blanket as the soldiers perverted the sky with violence. The ground rumbled with cannon fire, and loud screams, miles away, manifested themselves quietly.

"My Lady…" Pearl whispered. "I'm scared."

"I won't let anyone hurt you."

"But I'm just—"

"And I'm just carbon. Please don't worry."

"Thank you." She tucked in even closer.

"Try to get some sleep."

"You too. Good night."

"Good night, Pearl."

Eventually, both lost consciousness upon the chilly earth as the world burned. The wind howled with the soldiers through the trees and Coal kept their blanket from blowing away. She protected Pearl from the cold and somehow managed to remain asleep, despite dreams of running through a wasteland of snow.

In the morning, she awoke to a scream.

" _What was that?_ " Pearl whispered.

It occurred again, and sounded far too beast-like to belong to any gem.

The wind picked up around them for only a moment before settling down again.

Coal claimed her arms back.

" _What are you doing?_ "

"I'm going to see what it is. Keep the blanket around you."

" _Don't!_ "

"I'll be fine."

" _What if you die?_ "

"Pearl—"

" _What if it eats you? What will I do?_ "

Coal kissed Pearl's forehead. "I won't let it eat me."

"But—" The smaller gem began to cry, but in order to stay quiet, clasped her hands over her mouth. "What will I do without you?" She whispered through the tears and her fingers.

"That won't be a decision you have to make." Coal touched her lips to the point of Pearl's nose before slipping out beneath the cover of the leaves.

Carefully, she stood up and kept behind the tree, bones creaking and popping from holding still the entire night. A few twigs broke beneath her feet, but Coal moved quietly as possible, poking her head out from one side of the trunk.

A short distance away stood an armored dragon. Her mad silver eyes looked straight up into the sky and she yelled again, smoke draining from her nostrils and mouth.

"Luna!" Coal whispered.

Whenever she moved, her white scales would change colors to display facets of the light spectrum. Her long neck appeared red, gold, and teal as she trashed and cried out.

Coal stepped out from behind the tree. "Luna," she called, "Luna, what's wrong, Love?"

The dragon bared her teeth as she screeched, standing up on all four lean legs. Something near her belly fell over, armor clinking as it made contact with the ground.

" _Shh_ —it's alright." Coal raised her hands and set her eyes upon White Diamond, who lay unconscious in the grass. A gash showed through her armor upon her right leg through which she bled profusely, silver blood clotting and drying further from the lesion. Coal gasped.

Luna replied with a hiss and retreated only a step, as Coal hummed, getting her to sit back down, avoiding crushing her master in the process.

Turning and still humming, Coal made her way back to the tree where she pulled various supplies from the bags and piled them into her lap.

"Pearl—" She shoved the gauze into the collection and continued searching. From the opposite direction, Luna howled again, though her volume shook the trees less that time.

The smaller gem poked her head out from her cover. "You're alright! What is that thing?"

"It's Luna."

" _Luna is here?_ "

"Pearl, I need your help. White Diamond is severely injured. I fear that if we don't move fast enough she'll die. I know you're afraid, but please help me."

Pearl hesitated for just a moment before casting the leaves from her body. "Okay," she sighed and went to work filling her arms with vials. "How bad is it?"

"It's bad. She has an enormous gash on her leg."

"Is she still breathing?"

"I don't know. I didn't get to see—" Coal stood and headed back to White Diamond's potential corpse, humming all the while to calm the dragon. Luna stopped lamenting and allowed Coal to come near her master, even remaining still when Coal's dark grey hands tore away the bottom half of White's armor. Using a cloth and some alcohol, she cleaned the wound and much of the dried blood, while White Diamond gulped at the back of her throat in response. The sound came out barely stronger than a breath.

Pearl poured some of her freshly mixed serum into White's mouth, as Coal had begun the healing fluid. Once she caused the smoke to rise, Pearl began soaking and placing the bandages. White Diamond didn't move.

After only about a minute they had covered the leg and Coal, with shaking hands over that fatal gash, spoke her quiet spell. The fluid began to dry and dissipate. The gauze popped and the smoke rose, slowly. All four kept obscenely still until finishing the procedure, when the haze turned white and Coal tore the bandages away.

The gash had disappeared.

Coal sighed in relief, but didn't spare a moment. At that point, she pressed her palm into the dirt. The ground shook, clumping together beneath her hand, with the roots of trees forming veins and the dense earth forming the outlines of a body. With the upward motion of her hand followed a golem, and Coal stopped with her arm straight above her head. It towered nonchalantly, with thick limbs and two holes for eyes.

"Pick up White Diamond, and be careful. She's very weak right now."

The golem grunted and progressed forward. Coal followed, continuing to hum, though the notes came faster as the Golem's enormous arms wrapped around White. Luna watched the entire time, adjusting her translucent wings and releasing mouthfuls of visible breath.

White's lungs expanded and contracted and Coal wiped the sweat from her brow.

"Come on," she said, "We're going to the cave."


	4. Chapter 4

The battle had finally died down, and the surrounding forest developed a rare silence. Coal, Pearl, Luna, and the golem carrying White Diamond kept a steady pace through the long quiet. Sometimes Pearl turned back to look at Luna, or White Diamond, having linked arms with Coal.

"She's not going to murder us when she wakes up, is she?" Pearl whispered.

Coal neglected to answer.

Fortunately, the cave only required about an hour's walk, and lay well in seclusion past a thick patch of forest. It wasn't particularly large or small, but just the right size for the three of them to stay the night. No one besides Coal or Pearl came there, and Coal had posted protection charms onto the trees and had written her spells in the dirt.

When the band arrived, Luna waited outside while the golem came in and set White Diamond gently upon the floor. Her armor chattered as her body landed, and her fine features shifted, though she didn't wake.

"Thank you, Golem." Coal touched her creation on the shoulder. "You're free to go now."

The creature grunted and walked outside the cave, making heavy steps before collapsing back into dirt, rocks, and soil. Luna squawked in surprise.

Pearl set up the larger sleeping mat and as Coal placed White Diamond upon it, making sure her head didn't crash against the floor as her body landed. Not a second passed without those dark grey hands coming to White's jewel.

On rare occasions, Coal and Pearl had been tasked with curing a cracked gem. For this procedure, Coal would funnel every fiber of her body's power into her patient's stone, and this healing played out no differently, but the crack in White's gem was severe. The terrible and slender fault continued to the innermost sanctum of her diamond, which Coal observed from the side before covering it gingerly with her palms. Her gem appeared as a broken mirror, tinier faults branching out from the one in the center like roots of a sinister tree.

All the while, Pearl wiped White's face of sweat and opened parts of her armor to release the heat. She mixed potions for the pain, and or to help her restore blood or water. White swallowed whenever Pearl poured potion into her mouth, but she had yet to speak.

As the light faded, Pearl lit a candle. The moon had come out, and the sky retained a handsome purple, but would soon transition to black.

"I'm glad Luna brought her to us." Coal spoke as Pearl wiped the side of White's face with the cloth. After so many hours, she had finally interrupted the whistling of the wind with her voice.

"I'm sure she'll wake up and scowl at you any moment now."

Coal sighed, and lifted her hands. Though the candlelight wavered, that terrible scar had grown shallow, and the smaller cuts had disappeared. She touched White's shoulders, and Coal's frothy lashes managed a few long blinks as the shadows deepened beneath them.

Pearl's cloth drank White's sweat again.

"It's getting late." Coal prepped her hands, birthed a gasp of smoke from her heartlines, and straightened her crooked back. "Would you like to get some sleep?"

"Would that be alright?"

Coal returned to the position she had held for hours. "You should rest."

"You should too."

"I can't," Coal said, "White Diamond is in my bed."

Pearl snorted. "Are you sure? I'm tired, but I can still help."

"I'm sure. It shouldn't be much longer."

"Alright. Wake me if you need me."

Through the night, one enormous gem looked over the other, wiping the sweat from her brow and switching out candles as they burned to the ends of their wicks. She watched White breathe slowly and steadily, and unconsciously adjust her shapely lips. Sometimes her eyes squeezed tightly shut, but the moment where she exposed her gorgeous silver and diamond pupils had yet to come.

The first time Coal had locked eyes with White Diamond was outside the palace garden. She stood amongst the plants, dressed in billowing crème robes and shined like a goddess beneath the beams of the sun. The breeze bunched inside her sleeves and rustled her long strands of upright hair.

Even with the wind, she looked like a statue. The spring had brought up flowers around her and the stony features of her delicate face remained locked on to Coal, who stayed just as still.

"You're quite curious, aren't you?"

The dark grey gem covered in rags and a light layer of dirt didn't answer. She merely lifted her fabrics to cover her gem from those powerful, prying eyes.

"You're much taller than any gems I've seen. Who are you, exactly?"

"I'm Coal, My Diamond."

" _Coal?_ Are all Coals as large as you are? I've never seen one."

"We're usually quite tall, Ma'am." Her left fingers gripped her garment and her heart fluttered faster. She couldn't say more.

"Well…" White Diamond set her dagger of a stare onto something else, and in turning her head, displayed her profile. "I've seen you around before. I've even heard about you. Apparently, you have some strong magic." Lazily, White brought her attention back and blinked just once. "If that's true, you could work in the city. I want to have a place for every gem in my empire, regardless of who you are. You can find a purpose, in case you grow tired of wandering through the woods."

"Thank you, My Diamond, but I enjoy moving from place to place."

Coal nearly heard the smack of White's stare as it afflicted her face. "Are you a criminal?"

"No, Ma'am." She raised the hand that didn't threaten to tear apart her outfit. "I don't cause trouble. I simply prefer to explore."

"For your sake, I hope you're telling the truth." White turned toward her palace, though she didn't begin to walk. "Next time, go exploring further from my home. You shouldn't be this close." She crossed her arms in a way that showed their definition. Her shapely shoulders swelled with their muscles underneath. "I don't want to catch you around here again."

Coal didn't reply, but began her descent from the mountain, leaving White behind inside her glowing garden.

Yet, somehow, they continued to run into one another. Even outside the streets of the city, they would lock eyes on a mountain path or inside the forest. Granted, this never happened too far away from White's city, but their run-ins occurred enough to include short conversations.

" _You again?_ "

"How is the dirt today, Coal?"

"Are you tired of living like an animal yet?"

And Coal would answer back:

"Yes, Madame. It's me again."

"The dirt is lovely today."

"I'm not sick of it yet, My Diamond. Are you satisfied in life?"

Eventually, White began to greet her with a wave of the hand. "Coal," she would say, as she and her army passed by.

"Greetings, My Diamond. How are you?"

"I'm fine. Tired," and she might roll her eyes, "And you?"

"I'm doing well, Madame. Today looks like it's going to be pleasant. I'm looking forward to the warm weather."

"Us too. Isn't that right, Ladies?"

Her army of Quartzes replied with a unanimous grunt before passing by and shaking the ground with their steps.

When Topaz's inn was full and they had nowhere to sleep, Coal and Pearl would tuck themselves into the edge of White Diamond's garden. Hiding amongst the lush leaves that never seemed to wilt, they both slept and listened. Sometimes, even from the bottom of the mountain, Coal could hear White's strict voice, and even rarer still, the sound of a siren calling White softly.

"My Diamond…"

The lights upon the hill would extinguish.

Coal took her hands from White's brow and wiped up her own sweat. Her body complained with rigidness and her stomach whined of hunger, but beneath her palms was a flawless gem. White Diamond had returned to her normal color of smooth marble and stayed still, save for the steady breathing expanding her chest.

Coal blinked and searched through her faulty vision at the diamond. It sparkled in the unsteady candlelight without flaw. Sighing, Coal propped herself against the cave's hard, rocky wall while expelling a few tears, which she wiped away and eventually came to set her cramping arms at her sides, where sleep could grab her by the wrist and drag her away. Unconsciousness came for her like a tidal wave, swallowing her in the time White Diamond could snap her fingers to make a demand.

Coal slept as the candle wax melted to the ground.


	5. Chapter 5

White Diamond awoke when the bright light of morning infected the cave. Something twinkled near the left corner of her eye, so she turned and caught Coal's gem.

Her last memory played back: a knight with a war hammer. White swung her sword, but everything went black as her body grew cold.

She looked up at Coal's sleeping face. Her dark and wild hair obscured some of her features, which shifted as she breathed. Her gem sparkled in the morning light, and at certain angles, its facettes reflected a rainbow of colors and White Diamond narrowed her eyes.

Coal coughed and drew White's stare back to her face. The sound rumbled violently, but she didn't wake, despite her expression twisting with unspoken pain.

White sat up and shook the air with her armor's noise. Its separate pieces clinked against one another, but the cacophony still didn't cause Coal to wake. White then regarded her perfect leg, and steadily released all of her breath. Her flesh remembered the rip—that terrible sensation that afflicted her from her toes to her forehead as if she were actually torn apart. Now there was only the cool air through her damaged armor.

She leaned over to clear some of the hair from Coal's face, and when her gloved hands came close enough, those deep black eyes popped open.

In the light, White made out her squared pupils, darker than the midnight of her irises.

"I didn't mean to wake you."

Somehow Coal held her composure. "I was worried you wouldn't wake up. When I found you, you had lost so much blood."

White's gloved hand touched her cheek. "You're a Diamond, aren't you?"

Coal merely looked her in the face.

"You fixed my gem and managed to reseal that wound entirely. I'm sure I had died, but somehow, you brought me back. None of the healers in my court can come close, and you're telling me that a _Coal,_ of all gems, is capable of such a thing?"

"You didn't die…"

"So, are you denying it?"

Coal couldn't answer, opting to look away as a singular bead of sweat rolled along her face.

White continued, "I was suspicious of you from the start. There were rumors of a Diamond that ran away from her kingdom, but no one knew where she went. I suppose 'homeless wanderer' is about as good a cover as any. Though, I'm terribly curious; why would you choose this life?"

Black Diamond sighed and swallowed to clear her throat. "I'm at peace living this way. I couldn't stand all the pomp and was happier in the forest, helping others when I could, leading a simple life."

White digested her answer, and said, "Come back with me." She paused before continuing. "There doesn't have to be any pomp, but I want to repay you for saving my life. I'll give you whatever you like and you can bring that one too—" Pearl squeaked upon receiving White's stare.

"Didn't you hear what I said?" Black's lips bent. "I'm happiest living here."

White scowled, but partially. "Do you have any idea how long I've wanted to meet you? I've spent so many nights thinking about the Diamond that could be out there, wondering if I was delusional for believing that I might not be the only one. I kept telling myself that there had to be another. It didn't make sense for only one Diamond to exist, and now that we've finally found each other, you want to continue living outside like a damned animal. _Why?_ I'm prepared to give you everything you've ever desired and you would forsake that to sleep on the ground and bathe in the river? I'm insulted."

"I don't mean to insult you. I'm sure your palace is beautiful and has all the world's fineries, but I _like_ sleeping on the ground and bathing in the river. I don't expect that you'll understand, but I'm happy this way. It's simple."

White sighed as they looked at one another. Several seconds passed before Black continued. "Listen, if you want to repay me, why don't you visit me sometimes? We seem to have a knack for running into one another. Whenever you're feeling lonely, you can track me down, and we can be Diamonds together, privately. With time, perhaps I can show you the beauty of bathing in a river or lying on the ground, and you can forget about being the only one."

"Black Diamond," White began and spoke simply, "I want you to come back with me."

"I'm sorry, but I won't."

White's eyes burned silver and the healer's heart caught fire.

"Let me repay you somehow."

Black rolled her lips into a hard line. "How about a lock of your hair?"

" _My hair?_ Are you going to curse me?"

"Heavens, no! If I wanted to curse you, I could clap my hands together like this and whisper—"

"Black Diamond, _please._ I just survived having my gem cracked and my leg ripped open. I don't need any more bad luck." She held up her hands. "You can have a lock of my hair, but I want to know what you'll use it for."

"Nothing." Her cheeks grew as dark as the night sky, but those wells of ink didn't look away. "It would be far too special to use for anything. I would simply admire it."

"In that case, I want a lock of your hair as well."

"You won't curse me either, will you?" Black winked.

"I haven't any idea how. Even if I tried, I'm sure you would find out and curse me three times as severely."

"I think I would manage to forgive you."

The empress and the wanderer shared a quiet gaze before White turned to Pearl. "Well, are you going to get the scissors? You've been listening to us this entire time."

"Oh stars—" The servant nearly wept. "Yes, Madame—"

Pearl handed the scissors to White and returned to her place in the corner, watching as the two Diamonds traded locks.

"Which piece do you want?"

"I can have any of them?"

"Any at all."

Black pinched the lowest strand at the base of her neck. "I'd like this one, please."

White surrendered the scissors, and Black cut gently until those silver hairs laid flat in her hand. White did the same and took one of Black's points, stowing it away inside her armor.

After lingering in the cave a moment, both finally walked outside to find Luna chirping. The dragon chatted with noises she made in her throat as she yipped and flapped her wings. All of her attention went to White.

"Calm down, you lizard." White set her hands upon either side of Luna's face and touched their foreheads together. "Did you really think I was done for?"

Luna squeaked, and with one hand on the dragon's chin, White turned to Black. "Are you sure you don't want to come with me?"

"I'm sure. Thank you."

"Suit yourself." She climbed up on Luna's back and took the reins. "I suppose I'll see you around."

"Certainly."

They made eye contact before White took off. Luna caused a storm as she kicked up dirt and created wind. Black Diamond took Pearl's hand.

"How do you feel about her knowing?"

"I'm not sure." Black tucked a little hair behind her ear. "She seems happy to have found me. I just hope she'll be satisfied with meeting in the woods."

Pearl didn't say anything, but held her mistress's hand tightly.


	6. Chapter 6

She had emerged in the village of the Coals, well into the desert where volcanoes had formed. The rock face from which she came held numerous other holes, each more shallow than hers.

Five gems came to find her. Their skin held darker pigments and their long, slender bodies stood shorter. The group examined her with careful hands; their fingers touched her delicately, but firmly enough, while their curious charcoal eyes rolled over every square inch of her.

She looked a little like them, but not quite enough.

"What kind of gem are you?"

They felt her long, voluminous locks and compared it with their own. Some of their tresses stretched past their waists, but some had tied their hair back or cut sections off. They resembled a group of siblings, having found a cute animal to play with.

"Look at her stone…"

"You should come back with us."

"You can come live in the village too."

So, she followed the group of five; two had taken one of each of her hands while the other three led the way. She turned to look at all of the holes before wandering too far to see them anymore. The cut-outs made an even pattern as if someone had placed them by design, with the heads and feet lined up in rows, so that a perfectly straight line would connect one hole to the next.

But her imprint was directly in the center. It broke the pattern in size and location. Neither the silhouette of her feet nor indentation of her head lined up with anyone else's. Her outline stood strangely alone, surrounded by a sea of consistent Coals.

She found the rest of them in the village. Each wore different outfits and unique hairstyles and spoke with different mannerisms, despite the same tall, lanky base. Gems manifested all across their bodies—on their faces, arms and legs, stomachs, backs; anywhere. None showed any qualities of aging, all appearing fresh and young.

Every single one of them came to stare at the new arrival. The village elders pushed their way to the front to get a good look at this stranger, who nearly resembled a Coal, but didn't come close enough.

The elders, having dressed in fine robes and gold paint, followed the same procedure the first five had upon finding her. With identical fingers, they poked and pinched at her, nearly burning a hole with the force of their collective stare against her gem. In hushed tones, they whispered.

The crowd only grew quieter and quieter.

"Do you truly think…"

"Look at the way she sparkles—"

"Could she really be?"

" _A Diamond?_ "

Someone, perhaps all of them, gasped and the crowd went silent. The only sound came from the wind whipping through that desert town, past the small houses and through the central market where they stood.

"If she's a Diamond," the blacksmith spoke up, "her gem should be able to withstand the cut of any blade."

A sea of whispers flooded the town center.

The new gem's legs went weak. "You won't cut me, will you?"

None of the elders answered and the voices increased to yelling.

"Let's try it!"

"Do it with a dull blade at first, just in case!"

"Try my knife!"

"Try my sword!"

"Enough!" One of the elders shouted over the noise, but it required several minutes for the Coals to settle down. The one who had spoken wore several layers of silk and even more jewelry. From one of her many pockets she procured a knife no larger than her longest finger, but gleaming with sinister implication.

The Coal released a hard sigh and paused a time before she spoke, "I'm not going to let you get hurt, but we need to know whether or not you're a Diamond. Will you permit me to test your gem? I'll call my healers and have them stand by, in case something goes wrong. I promise I won't let you die."

The new gem rolled her lips and suffocated, but somehow remained standing. Coals surrounded all of them from every angle, she and that elder drowning in gold. Clouds passed overhead, slowly, bathing them in shadows, and she counted every time her body expanded and contracted.

Finally, she said, "Alright."

The elder nodded and called over her healers with the motion of her hand. They came, in matching tan outfits, while the elder dropped to her knees to face the stone in question. Her jewelry jangled with her fall and she hesitated only a moment before slipping the blade across the gem. Black shut her eyes and tossed her head to the side, as if to look away. Her legs shook and her arms quivered, until eventually, she asked, "Have you done it yet?"

"I've done it several times." The elder stood. "Bring me another blade!"

The crowd produced another. This time she turned her face forward, but still didn't watch as the elder drew the tip of a different knife across the face of her gem.

"Bring me another!"

She opened her eyes.

The sword didn't cut her.

The axe didn't cut her.

Neither did the spear.

With every failure, they handed a new weapon to the front, sharper and more savage than the last, but none of them left a scratch. Her gem remained exactly as flawless as the moment she burst from the mountain.

The afternoon expired to evening with every blade in the village exhausted. Each Coal stood and stared beneath the veil of a heavy silence. In the orange and purple glow of sunset, the elder's onyx eyes met with those of her new queen's.

"My Diamond." Her voice came out breathlessly before she bowed low.

Every other gem in attendance followed suit. The Coals, regardless of the splendor of her clothing or the amount of dirt on her skin, pushed herself upon the ground.

Black Diamond just stood there, stiller than when her people had tried to cut her. She didn't raise her voice to her hundreds of subjects; her body remained in one place like the statue of a dead goddess. Even the wind didn't move her.

The next day they began building her a palace. It sprung up toward the center of town, but near enough to the outskirts. They needed a stretch of land large enough for their queen, without placing her in the middle of nowhere.

Every Coal in town came to assist in building the palace. The worker women set down the foundation for a three-story home, while the carpenter built her a throne. The artists painted her image upon enormous canvases and the elders sent off the traders to procure a Pearl. They left with rolled up sketches to show to the gemologist and every single one of them insisted that their Diamond sit and watch.

The same elder that attempted to cut her the day before brought a chalice of iced tea today, with orange slices and rare ice floating inside it.

Black Diamond took a long sip.

"I apologize for yesterday." She wore bangles that chimed like bells every time she moved her arm and had a habit of stroking her braid. They sounded frequently. "We needed to be certain you were a Diamond, but we're happy you're here."

Black caught a group of Coals carrying a long plank of wood. "I'm happy to be here. Is there anything I can help with?"

"Not yet, but once you've settled in, you'll help govern us." She made a shallow breath. "I never believed we would have a Diamond. For hundreds of years, there have been nothing but Coals, yet here you are."

"Are there others?"

"There is one other, but she lives far away. I've heard she's quite ruthless and burst out of the ground barking orders, but I don't know much more than that."

"That's quite alright. Perhaps I'll meet her one day."

"I'm sure you will."

While Black sat and drank her tea, she considered the possibility of another Diamond, but it wasn't long before the eldest Coal insisted on showing her around.

Their village consisted of the marketplace in the center, the mines on the outskirts, and an odd forest of black trees that grew from the grains of desert sand. Those bizarre plants stood before the volcano and posed like stiff shadows. None of them displayed any leaves, just thick, dark branches that the wind could never shake.

"We print these trees on our money," the elder told her. "They make a rich syrup you can use for potions or even as a sweetener. They really aren't good for much else. Their wood doesn't burn well, but they do blossom in the spring."

"That sounds lovely."

"We have a festival every year when they start to flower. Everyone gets drunk." She paused for a moment too long. "I suppose it's a fun time, if you're young."

At that point, the sun moved further overhead and shortened the shadows of the trees, who stood in orderly rows.

The light brought out the shine of all of the eldest Coal's gold, and she began to finger the end of her braid. A few of her hairs appeared silver. "I wonder what sort of powers you have. I hope that one of them will be making this village worth living in."

Black Diamond bent her brows. "Are you saying it's not worth living in now? I love it here already."

"You might feel differently if you go anywhere else."

The shadows disappeared entirely as the overhead sun baked into the dark wood of the trees. The eldest Coal turned to face the rest of the village, which only required a short walk back.

"Shall we return?"

"Certainly, Coal. As you please."

Days passed as the villagers completed the outside of the palace. They had built her throne and set it inside on the first floor, which they had started to tile. The artists submitted to her the rough draft of a coin with her profile on one side and a flowering syrup tree on the back, which Black Diamond approved immediately. The traders too, had finally returned and came before her.

"My Diamond—" the two of them bowed with a veiled figure whose little feet coiled up. They poked out from beneath the fabric, appearing in grey.

Black couldn't help but grin.

"We've brought you a Pearl." They took the cover away to reveal a smaller gem with a pointed nose, round eyes and short black hair. Before her queen, she wove her slender fingers together and looked bashfully onward. The veil had left her bangs a little messy and her lips twisted as she quivered.

Her Diamond smiled. "Hello, Pearl. It's nice to meet you."

"Thank you, Madame." Her cheeks darkened like twilight turning to night. "It's nice to meet you too." Her forehead and even her chest had started to blush. She gulped visibly.

"Come a little closer, won't you?"

"Yes, Ma'am." She hurried forward while both of the traders held onto one another behind her. Formality kept them bolted to the spot with the veneer of a calm expression.

Black Diamond placed her hands at either side of Pearl's face and kissed her on the forehead. "Thank you," she addressed the traders as her servant died in her arms, and grinned back when both of them flashed every tooth in their mouths.

Somehow, Pearl came back to life and followed her mistress wherever she went, quietly, and always a few steps behind. They would go to the elders' meetings together, to the mines, to the syrup tree field, and each morning, Pearl helped her lady dress. She tied back that mass of dark hair and placed the crown upon her head, along with the veil that went underneath it. Black would often paint the gold onto her eyelids herself, but Pearl insisted upon placing the tiny dots around her cheeks and over her brows. She always made them exactly the same, like the clear stars in the night sky, and every night, Pearl would fill Black Diamond's tub with hot water and wash them from her face.

Sometimes they made eye contact a little too long. Black caught Pearl staring into her nighttime irises and squared pupils frequently, and she would always look back as the edges of her lips came up.

One day, they stood by the syrup trees together, watching as the workers drilled with their spouts into the hard-crystalline bark and placed their buckets underneath. Each dressed in loose-fitting fabrics of gentle pink and at least occasionally adjusted her headscarf, decorated in a fuchsia flower print.

"Pearl…"

The servant stood a few steps behind her mistress when she answered. "Yes, My Diamond?"

"You can come a little closer. You don't have to stand all the way back there." Black sparkled like a goddess between her embellishments and gem.

"Yes, Ma'am." She took a few steps closer, but still stood behind her Diamond, who laughed. "I want you to stand _next_ to me, Pearl."

"Oh." With something of a little leap forward, Pearl landed gracefully at her lady's side, who reached down and patted her head.

"You know, you don't need to be so formal all the time."

She didn't reply.

"Are you afraid I'll be angry with you?"

"No, My Diamond. You're very reasonable and kind, but I want to show the proper respect."

"Well, I don't think it would be disrespectful if you stood next to me, or even shared your thoughts sometimes. You always look a little like you're ready to combust. It worries me that you're putting so much pressure on yourself when you're doing a great job."

Pearl died a second time. "Do you really think so, Madame?"

"Of course."

The black birds circled overhead and cried out. Some of the Coals in the field imitated them and giggled when one called back. Black Diamond and Pearl laughed.

"May I speak freely for a moment, My Diamond?"

"Certainly, Pearl."

Still, she paused. "Before I came here, the gem who created me told me that I had better be on my best behavior at all times, if I was truly to serve a Diamond. She said you might shatter me if I was out of line. You seemed content, but…"

For a moment, Black looked over top of the dark trees that had yet to bloom. The crows cried. " _Shatter you?_ I can't imagine a situation severe enough where I would _shatter_ you. Why did she tell you such a thing?"

"I'm not sure, Madame. Perhaps Diamonds are usually frightening or cruel?"

"My stars, had she ever met one?"

"I don't know, My Lady. It's possible, but she never mentioned if she had."

"Well, I'm not going to do that to you, Pearl." Black released a hard gasp of air and set her attention to the faraway volcano that cast a long shadow in the distance.

"You're not upset with me, are you, My Diamond?"

"Not at all." Black touched her shoulder. "I just can't believe you thought I would shatter you. _Over what?_ You serving my tea too cold?"

Pearl took in a breath to regain her composure. " _Was_ it too cold, My Diamond?"

"No, it was just fine—"

At that very moment came a hard knock and an abrupt holler as one of the crows crashed into the trees and fell upon the ground. Black Diamond and Pearl jumped and one of the Coals came around to see what had happened.

"Oh Lord, not again." She bowed, and continued in her raspy voice, "My apologies, My Diamond. This happens sometimes. I'm sorry if the noise frightened you."

"That's quite alright."

"I think the smell might intoxicate them a little," she laughed. "It's very sweet. I'm having one of the girls make you an elixir so you can try some fresh if you haven't already. You can't beat right out of the tree!"

"Thank you. I'm looking forward to it."

The worker smiled and went away while Black approached the fallen crow. It lay unconscious on its back with a bloody and broken wing. She gasped, "Poor thing."

Pearl trailed behind and looked around her Diamond, wincing at the sight of the creature. She watched as Black leaned over and placed her palms beneath it.

"My Lady—"

Black Diamond held the crow and stood still a long time. A kind of focus descended upon her like a sugary fog and her skin grew warmer, though she didn't move. The unconscious crow's wing mended. The bone set itself into place and the blood dried while the wound sealed.

Just as Black and Pearl released a unanimous gasp, the bird's eyes snapped open, and with yelling from all parties, hopped onto its feet and flew away. The commotion left a few black feathers in Black's hands, and she and Pearl stared at one another, both hoping for an explanation neither had.

"My Diamond, did you heal that crow?" One of the workers asked. She sat at one of the nearby trees, replacing a full bucket of syrup with an empty one.

"I believe so." Black still had a few fluffy feathers inside her open palms.

"Wow! That's amazing, Madame. Congratulations."

"Thank you."

The same Coal from earlier approached, this time carrying a wide-lipped glass of dark and bubbly fluid. "You healed that crow, My Diamond?" The beverage changed hands and the worker placed her hands on her hips. "Sorry, it might still be kind of hot, but that's really amazing. You know, you struck me as a healer from the moment I saw you. Can't say I'm surprised."

"Oh, whatever," the other Coal replied, walking past with another full bucket. Its weight caused her to hunch over, even though she carried it with both hands. Despite the burden, she laughed.

" _What?_ You can tell just by looking at her." The one speaking turned to the Coal with the bucket as she passed. "She's just got that look to her, don't you think?"

"She definitely does," she continued to giggle. "She's all flowy and beautiful."

"Exactly!" She turned back to address her Diamond, beaming, hands still on her hips. "Oh, have you tried some yet? I'm sorry, I was looking at that idiot over there."

"Speak for yourself, syrup-for-brains!"

"I heard that!"

Black Diamond grinned and took a sip. The taste of thick sugar overwhelmed her tongue as the bubbles fizzed in her throat. "It's delicious."

"I'm glad you think so! I knew you would like it," she gave a hearty laugh again. "You let me know if you want anymore, My Diamond. We have a whole pitcher ready."

"In that case, may I request a glass for Pearl?"

"Oh!" She leaned over to look at the servant, who disappeared beneath her mistress's shadow. "Of course! I suppose you want some too, don't you? I'll be back in just a second." She turned away to fetch another cup.

"Thank you, My Diamond."

"Certainly. You should try some too, don't you think?"

Pearl grinned at her lady, showing only a few teeth. Despite the shadow, Black watched her cheeks darken and smiled back to her. She didn't drink again until they both had cups.

Shortly after that, they left to attend to other matters, but not before the Coals in the field settled them with ten bottles of syrup and detailed instructions for making elixirs.

That night, Pearl drew a bath for Black Diamond and waited outside as her lady undressed and entered the water.

"Pearl, you can come in now!"

"Yes, My Diamond!"

She entered that room full of candlelight, following the gold that still sparkled upon Black's face. Even in the mild darkness, it shimmered, and Pearl began by erasing the stars on her cheeks. Her Diamond's eyes closed and remained that way for the most part, but sometimes, her long lashes brushed against some part of Pearl's hand.

Her breathing came out so quietly.

"My Diamond, may I ask you something?"

"Certainly, Pearl."

"How do you feel?"

The larger of the pair didn't respond, and Pearl continued to steal her gold with the washcloth. Her voice was warm and gentle in the peace of the candlelight and darkness. "I suppose I'm surprised. I didn't intend on healing that crow today, but it just happened. Now I'm wondering what other powers I have, if any."

"I'm sure you have a lot of powers, My Diamond."

"Perhaps, but I wonder what this means for the future."

Pearl had stolen the gold from one of her eyes and held the cloth close to her chest. From it, she squeezed a little water that ended up back in the tub. "It's a good thing, isn't it?"

"It should be."

Pearl took the other eyelid's worth of gold and her mistress's lashes parted so they could look at one another. Black Diamond offered a grin and cast her attention into the water, which shimmered with her make-up.

"My Diamond, should I wash your hair?"

"Please."

Pearl began wetting her long locks and throughout the process, Black Diamond watched as the water stilled and shook and glittered with bits of gold. Sometimes the surface settled while Pearl applied the shampoo, and the sparkling pieces shone against the dark background of the water. Black Diamond sat there, connecting the dots and trying to make constellations before Pearl, or even her own movements, sent them shooting away again. They would end up somewhere else, or even dissolve and disappear forever.

Black Diamond went to bed after her bath and faded into a dreamless sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

The war had ended. No more cannon fire rang out into the night and the woods returned to their regular, serene state.

In the early morning light, Black examined a golden coin that sat little in her large hand. She ran the ridges of her thumb over the print of a jagged tree with hard branches. It shone, just as the thin edges of the coin when caught at certain angles, but she never turned it over. Pressing the profile on the other side well into her palm, she put the piece away once the light lost its sherbet colors. The purples, pinks, and oranges disappeared for white, and Black laid back down upon her mat.

Pleasant hours later, Pearl touched her shoulder to wake her.

"Madame, we're running low on food."

"Hmm?" Those long-lashed eyes opened. "Are we really?"

"Yeah. Should we start heading toward the city?"

"Certainly," she yawned and with no warning at all, clasped Pearl against her chest. Black smashed her poor servant inside an embrace and rolled onto her side, as Pearl yelled. Black laughed and kissed her cheek. "We'll head to town after a while longer. I was enjoying that dream."

Both laid there a long time before heading to town.

The moment they arrived that day, a sobriety inhabited the air. Wherever Black and Pearl walked, the eyes of various gems would cling to them. Ladies dressed to the teeth gasped and covered their lips while lower class gems hid behind houses or tucked themselves into alleys.

They came to the marketplace and the beggars with whom they shared a rank only days ago bowed. The silence came again, washing over the scene as if it radiated from Black Diamond herself. Then a few vendors approached her, and standing amongst them, Topaz came forward. Even visible from a distance away, a worry claimed every muscle of her face, until she stood on nearly equal ground with Black Diamond. At that point, fear sparked within her eyes, and she reached out only to stop halfway to Black's shoulders.

"Is it true?" She asked.

Black Diamond took a step back.

"I'm so sorry," Topaz said. "I should have realized, but I had no idea. To think I could have disrespected you-"

"You've never disrespected me!"

The shout caused the crowd to step back. "I'm so sorry," Topaz said and got onto her knees, bowing. Everyone else followed suit.

Black Diamond shook. The sun beamed down and caught the edge of her gem, sparkling against her lower stomach, to which the crowd pushed themselves further into the dirt, and Black clenched her fists.

" _Stop bowing this instant!_ " Her voice boomed above them. "Get up, _all of you!_ "

Slowly, the people pulled their faces from the ground. Most of which readied to cry as their owners prepared to be hit.

"I don't want any of you to bow to me! I haven't done a _damned_ thing to earn your praise! Get up and treat me like you always have, _please!_ "

Guards watched her from the corners of the square. When they would have arrested anyone else for causing such a ruckus, they let her be. None had even placed her hand upon her sword; they merely glanced on, doing nothing in their polished armor.

" _She told someone—_ " Black marched forward and Pearl followed. "And now the rumor's gotten out. Maybe she told all of them! _How could she—_ "

Any of the gems that saw her coming cleared the way.

"Where are we going?" Pearl, despite her long legs, nearly had to run to keep up.

Black Diamond stopped and showed her the tears in her eyes. " _I'm going to give her a piece of my mind._ " She smeared the streams upon her cheeks. "She needs to answer for this. After we save her life, _this_ is how she repays us? I've never—" Black didn't finish her sentence, but continued onward, driven by fire. Pearl tried her best to keep up.

White Diamond's palace took up the same space a small village would. From just about any point inside the city, one could observe it sitting upon its perfect, grassy hill. A clean, white staircase led to the front gates of the palace, which glowed in silver at the very top like the doorway to heaven itself. Two guards stood before it, watching as that enormous woman and her little Pearl made quick time past each impressive step.

They shook as she came into earshot. Black shouted, "I want to speak to White Diamond!"

"J-Just a moment, Madame."

They whispered amongst one another until one slipped inside the gate and ran into the palace, leaving the remaining quartz to stand and quiver.

"What—" the guard began, "What do you wish to speak about, Madame Black Diamond?"

Upon hearing her name, Black sat upon the stairs and buried her face inside her hands. "They know—they all know. _This is a nightmare._ "

"Oh, my lady." Pearl came to hug her. "I'm sure some gems don't know. Maybe we can go to a secluded village until everyone forgets and this whole thing blows over."

Black merely held Pearl, crying quietly upon her shoulder and only granting her enough room to breathe. In return, Pearl held on as tightly as she could, but only caused her Lady's tears to grow in size and passion.

Finally, the guard returned and took her time in speaking, "Madame—" Black heard her gulp. "My Diamond has agreed to talk to you. She said you're welcome to come in, and that she needs a little time, but we're setting up a waiting area for you now."

Black stood and followed the Quartz. The only sound was that of her shifting clothing and her feet upon the stairs as the three of them walked into the palace.

The columns held the ceiling so high that everyone inside appeared minimal. White Diamond's Pearls, all the same size and wearing the same hairstyle, passed with purpose. Each of them greeted the guests politely before hurrying away, down different corridors.

The main room held sofas, a grand fireplace, rows upon rows of bookshelves, paintings, and a statue of White Diamond herself. Pearl stopped a moment while her lady slowed down.

"It's only a little further, Madame."

"I think this one room is bigger than our old house. I've never seen so many Pearls…"

Black didn't respond. All of them continued to walk until the guard led the guests to another parlor. An entire cornucopia of fresh fruit, cooked meat, and fine cheese awaited them, along with cushions where they could sit.

"White Diamond should be in shortly, Madame."

The warrior still shook.

"Thank you."

When she went away, Pearl ate about five cherries in a few seconds. Black sat and dried her eyes, and both waited.

Pearl, despite keeping one set of fingers going from the table to her mouth, placed her free hand upon her Diamond's. Neither of them talked to one another, but twined their fingers together as the seconds passed. Black went for a cherry just as footsteps neared.

In walked White Diamond, still missing a strand from her bush of hair. She had dressed in a long, flowing robe that displayed her fit arms and legs and the light battle scars that decorated them.

"I'm glad you've come."

Black looked up and White stopped in her tracks. They stared at one another as the breeze blew the curtains around and those wells of ink leaked droplets of water.

"How could you?" Black's words held White in place, as though she had nailed her feet to the floor. "You've ruined everything." Her rivers overflowed again, but her eyes kept tossing their daggers. Only when the current grew too strong did she finally relent.

"I'm sorry." White took a few steps closer. "You have to believe me, I only told a few of my closest gems, but it looks like word got out anyway. I never wanted to hurt you, especially after what you had done for me and my people."

"What are you going to do about this?"

"I can't make it so they don't know, Black Diamond. My questions is: _why_ don't you want them to know?"

She cleaned her face by sweeping her palm across it. "I hate it when they bow to me."

" _That's_ what you're upset about?"

" _What did you not understand when I told you I wanted to live a normal life?!_ " Standing, Black pushed White back one step. "When I came into town today, they all laid down in the dirt and tried to offer up entire baskets of food, like I'm some sort of angry goddess come to smite them! I never wanted my presence to be that kind of burden! _Why did you tell anyone at all?_ "

White watched her, breathing slowly. "I couldn't help but tell someone, but I can have them punished—"

"Don't you dare punish them for something you've trained them to do!"

"What do you want from me, then?"

"I want things to be like they were, _before you stabbed me in the back_."

White sighed and ran her fingers through her silver hair. "I don't have the power to turn back time."

"It's too bad you couldn't use your powers to keep your mouth shut, but maybe you don't have those abilities either. I would offer to teach you, but I think I've done quite enough for your sake. Come on, Pearl."

"Madame, wait—"

Black Diamond had turned her back, but stopped to listen.

"We came here for food and shelter. Maybe—"

"Is that what you two need? My offer still stands. You're welcome to stay here."

Black didn't respond right away. "Do you want to stay, Pearl?"

"Well…We've been walking all day and given the situation…"

"She's right. I'd be happy to set up a feast for both of you, now that you're here."

"You did this on purpose." Black turned around to accuse White. "You wanted to own me like you do everyone else in this city. You made it so I wouldn't have a choice but to come to this gaudy pit. But I'll stay, only because if I refused, Pearl would follow me."

"That's very considerate of you."

Black walked to the door.

"I never intended to own you, but I am glad you're here."

"I'm sure you are."

"Pearl—" White called one of her servants, who happened to be passing by. "Black Diamond will be staying with us. Please show her to the largest available guest room."

"Yes, My Diamond." That pale thing came to the visitors and bowed. "Please follow me, Madame. We'll be there shortly."

Black and Pearl left White in her parlor, but her eyes followed as they disappeared behind a corner. She then walked back into the room, set a cherry into her mouth and spat the pit into her open palm.


	8. Chapter 8

They arrived to a guest room larger than Black Diamond's old chamber. The enormous windows poured in the day's dying light and its glorious colors through its billowing curtains. Pastoral tapestries hung from the walls, and a large bed awaited them in the center of the room, plush and plump with perfectly white sheets. In one of the corners, they set down their possessions.

"Here we are, Madame." White Diamond's Pearl bowed. "Do you require anything else?"

"No, Pearl. Thank you. Please tell White that I won't be coming to any feast she plans on putting on. Thank you."

"Yes, ma'am. I'll tell her immediately." She bowed again and left.

Before Pearl could even snap her fingers, Black Diamond had lain down on one side of the bed and covered herself in the frothy sheets. Her long hair hung out from the open end, obscuring her face.

"My Lady—" Pearl approached and gently set her hand upon Black's head. "Are you sure you don't want to have dinner with her?"

Black kept her quiet.

With nothing to respond to, so did Pearl.

"I can't bear to look at her right now. I'm not even sure where we can go from here. She owns everything. Soon enough word will spread and everyone will know."

Pearl furrowed her brows and sat upon the little free space at the edge of the mattress. "I'm sorry you're upset, Madame." She wove a few grey fingers into that magical, midnight hair. With a little coaxing, Pearl found Black Diamond's eyes and opened a space through her tresses so they could look at one another.

"Aren't you upset?"

"Not really. I'm surprised no one else found out sooner." Her prints smoothed along Black's strands that somehow never tangled. "But I'm happy as long as I'm by your side. You don't have to worry about me."

"Oh, Pearl." Black Diamond sighed. "Thank you."

"Of course," Pearl laughed. "I'm really glad Luna didn't eat you. I…kind of can't believe we're here, actually. White Diamond sure is rich, isn't she?"

"It's too much."

"I agree. This room is ugly."

"The architecture is so _gauche_."

"Did you see the color of the walls?" Pearl leaned forward. "Did she even bother changing them since last century?"

"And those tapestries? Tacky."

"How many damn Pearls does one gem need?"

Black Diamond laughed and closed her eyes as Pearl set a hand upon her shoulder. Neither moved while Black breathed in and out slowly and Pearl watched the sky darken from pastel pink to serious purple.

"I'm sorry, Pearl. I'm going to sleep. Today took so much of my energy."

"I understand."

"You're welcome to do as you like. I'm sure you're hungry…"

"I am, but if that one Pearl comes back I'll ask her about what I can do."

Black Diamond took a moment. Her consciousness nearly fled on an exhale. "I really ran you around today. I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Pearl leaned over and kissed her cheek, which her long hair still obscured.

"You're so tough. I love you."

"I love you too, Madame." Pearl covered up Black Diamond's eye and left her mistress to sleep.

At first, Pearl sat in the somber evening lights as that royal purple changed to dignified blue. Opening the gauche curtains, she looked at the stars that seemed to burn brighter from the vantage point of the hill, where the moon came up full and displayed its glow.

A gentle breeze blew through Pearl's hair before a soft knocking interrupted the silence. She came to the door, and outside it stood another servant holding a candle in her ghostly hands.

"Hello. I've come back to check on your mistress. Is everything alright?"

"Everything is just fine, but my mistress did request something to eat. She really enjoyed those cherries from earlier, and she said she would like some bread as well."

White Diamond's Pearl gave her a look. Her eyebrows raised and her lips twisted, but she spoke normally, "Does your mistress desire anything else?"

"Oh, anything else would be fine. She's not very picky."

"Understood."

She tried to go, but Pearl called out, "Wait! Would it be alright if I explore a little bit? I'd like a bath before I go to bed, if possible."

"You're a guest here. You're welcome to do as you please. I'll alert the kitchen of your mistress's order. If you'd like to bathe in the meantime, the bathhouse is just over that way." She pointed to the right, indicating an enormous hall lit by hundreds of candles. "You can't miss it if you continue in that direction."

"Thank you."

She had already began walking away, so Pearl sighed and left.

On her way to the bathhouse, Pearl observed several other servants passing by. Almost all of White Diamond's Pearls had iridescent gems upon their foreheads and shared the same slender frame, wrapped in delicate fabric. They flitted around like pixies on missions, hurrying from one destination to the next, carrying on in austere silence as if tasked with a spiritual duty.

The dull candlelight made them look as though they had been constructed from marble, but for Black's Pearl, it brought out the shadows, dips, and scratches on her muscles made walking through the mountains with her heavy pack.

Sometimes they stared at her in passing, but she made it to the bathhouse regardless.

The area contained two different rooms, one with cubbies and the other containing the bath itself. Gems of all types walked between one room and the next, naked save for a towel they may have wrapped around their heads. Most anyone who came in set their attention upon Pearl, which sometimes manifested only as a glance and other times a lingering stare.

Pearl removed her clothes, which the aristocratic gems of White's palace would call rags, and the other gems undressed her further than that. They analyzed every speck of dirt and every sinew of her physique.

Blush painting her cheeks, she made it to the bath and entered the water, receiving brief glances again from those inside. Many of them sat in pairs, wading shoulder deep in the bath and laughing about something or other.

Two such ladies sat directly across from her, looking with baby doll eyes as one washed the other's long, pink hair. Each held a gem upon her forehead, and the little, misplaced Pearl couldn't help but stare back at those tall, curvy ladies who giggled and covered their plump lips with feminine fingers.

Through the rising steam, the one having her hair washed waved Pearl over with a pale hand. When she didn't come immediately, both of them laughed and beckoned her again. Pearl knit her brows and waded over to the pair, who nodded and smiled as she continued closer.

"What's your name?"

"Are you a Pearl?" Their voices were soft and curious.

She gulped before answering. "I am."

"Wow…Look at your arms. You're in such good shape."

"I've never seen a black Pearl before." One of her pale and powder pink hands took Pearl delicately beneath the chin. Only her fingerprints made contact.

"Who do you belong to, anyway?"

"Black Diamond."

Both of them gasped and clapped their hands together. "Black Diamond is here?"

"Lady White must be ecstatic."

"No wonder she's been so rough with us lately."

"She must have been excited to have her friend come over. The anticipation likely killed her!"

Both released musical laughter and leaned against one another.

"Well, actually, we weren't really invited over. My Diamond and I came here once we found out White spread our secret. My Lady was pretty upset." Pearl made a few short, hard laughs herself.

"Oh, well that's odd."

"I wonder why she's been so passionate lately then."

"She bit me so hard this morning."

Pearl's eyes widened. " _White Diamond_ bit _you?_ "

"Oh yes! She bites us all the time! She really left me with a bruise. You see?" She turned her shoulder, so Pearl could view the terrible purple mark near her neck.

"Oh, Poudretteite—" the one sitting behind her grabbed her by the breasts and spoke into her ear. "I need you—"

The one with the bruise screamed as the other pretended to bite her, and both grew intoxicated in their mirth.

"Oh," said Pearl.

The Poudretteites calmed. "Do you have soap?"

"You didn't look like you had any."

"That's why we called you over."

"I don't." Her face grew nearly as dark as her hair. "I completely forgot, to tell you the truth."

"Well, you can have some of ours."

"Why don't you come a little closer?"

"Oh, you don't have to—"

But both of them had already lathered up their palms and drew Pearl close. With great ease, they spread their soap across nearly every stretch of her skin. Their lovely hands smoothed over her arms and across her legs and back. They worked carefully between her little breasts and took care with her gem. One even produced a cloth to polish it, and spilling hot water over her, they washed her hair. Their long, gentle fingers ran through it numerous times to draw out the dirt, making Pearl smell of flowers and causing her body to steam.

"She's so cute."

"I hope she sticks around."

"I suppose that depends on her Diamond."

"How long will you and Black Diamond stay, Pearl?"

"Oh," they had set her aside, and Pearl sat in the bath, head swimming. "I'm not sure. I don't imagine we'll stay too long."

"That's a shame."

"I'd really like to meet Madame Black Diamond."

"I wonder what she's like."

"She's very kind." Pearl practically floated away. "She's definitely never bit me or anyone else, for that matter."

The Poudretteites laughed and one patted Pearl upon the head. "White Diamond is kind too."

"When she doesn't feel like biting."

"Or hair-pulling."

"Or spanking."

They giggled again, and the smallest of the three did too, until she released an enormous yawn that sank her further into the pool.

"You look awfully tired." A few fingers stroked her dark grey cheek.

"You should get some rest, Pearl."

"It's dangerous to be drowsy in the hot water."

"I think I will get some rest…" She stood a little too fast and one of those lovely gems supported her with an elegant hand. "Thank you for letting me use some of your soap."

"Of course."

"Anytime."

With that, Pearl took the long walk back to her cubby, put on her dusty clothes and exited the bathhouse, collecting just as many stares as the last time.

Pearl returned to a small buffet of food that someone had set out in her absence. Black Diamond still slept beneath her veil of hair at the other side of the chamber, and once Pearl had filled her stomach with cherries, bread, and butter, she climbed in next to her.

The moment her head hit the pillow, the drowsiness blurred reality's lines, but that didn't stop her from touching her Diamond's shoulder blade. Black rolled over and set an unconscious and heavy arm around her while expelling a sigh. Both faded into a still and silent sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

For long hours, neither Black Diamond nor Pearl woke. They huddled together beneath the blankets, unmoving, as the daylight grew more and more intense.

On a few occasions, one of White's Pearls came to check on them. She would poke her head in, observe the slow-breathing lump beneath the covers, and leave. The process repeated until Black Diamond opened her eyes and sat up, peeling back the heavy layers, and rubbed the sleep from her lashes. She looked at Pearl, whose hair tangled from her sleeping on it while wet. She snored softly and didn't even twitch when her Diamond moved some of the hair from her face. Black allowed her fingers to coast along her cheek before exiting the bed.

Pins and needles claimed her legs upon contact with the ground, but she continued regardless. Black's blurry and fresh vision had brought her toward the table at the other end of the room, where a pile of cherry pits and bread crumbs awaited on a dirty plate set at the right most corner. What remained was still a fairly adequate feast, but _someone_ had made a substantial dent. About ten whole cherries remained, with one loaf of bread and a healthy basket of other fruits Pearl had yet to victimize.

Black Diamond began popping cherries into her mouth and spitting out the pits when a pale Pearl knocked on the door frame. Without expecting an answer, she stuck her head in, met gazes with Black Diamond, gasped and stood back outside immediately.

"You can come in."

"My apologies, Madame." She bowed upon reentering and avoided eye contact by setting her focus on the floor. "My Diamond requested that I check on you, and make certain that you're satisfied. Do you desire anything at all, my lady?"

"No, Pearl. Thank you. You're free to go."

"Thank you, Madame, but I have one other matter my Diamond requested I speak to you about."

Black broke off a piece from the remaining loaf of bread. "What is it?"

"White Diamond would like to speak with you over dinner, Madame."

Her fingers crushed the bread flat. "No, thank you."

"Yes, ma'am. I'll let her know momentarily."

"You won't get in trouble, will you?" Black turned to her, but the Pearl continued to bow with her attention to the tiles.

"No, ma'am. I doubt that I will."

"In that case, thank you, Pearl."

"Yes, ma'am," and the servant went away.

Black Diamond continued to eat. She finished the last of the cherries and made her way through half of the loaf of bread, but each new bite only brought out the emptiness in her stomach. She finished the loaf and wiped her eyes, cleaning them continuously as she made her way to the strawberries, plums, and apples. With one hand, Black Diamond fed herself and with the other, cleaned her tears. They nearly choked her on a few occasions, but she didn't stop eating, nor did she stop crying. Black continued until her stomach felt full, at which point she sat at the end of the bed and collected each slow-rolling drop.

The sheets shifted. "My Lady—" Pearl's joints cracked as she landed next to her Diamond. "Are you okay?"

Black hid her face inside her hands.

In response, Pearl wrapped her arms around her mistress and all of her wild hair. The embrace hung around her like a necklace someone had set over her head, and eventually, Black Diamond returned it.

"I'm sorry you're upset."

"I am too, Pearl. I feel as though we need to leave, but I'm not sure where to go and I don't want to stay here a moment longer. I'm compelled to take some kind of action, but I haven't any idea what and it's terrible."

Pearl held her Diamond a little tighter.

"I suppose we should go soon," Black said. "I don't want to risk running into her. I'd rather not speak."

"Are you sure? I was hoping I could show you the bathhouse."

"Bathhouse? But there's a river not too far from here."

"But—" Pearl furrowed her brows and gave up. "Alright, my lady. It's up to you."

Black Diamond set her hands upon Pearl's shoulders. "If you want to show me, we can go. I didn't realize it was important to you."

"It's not really that. I guess—I just wanted to wash your hair, My Lady. Maybe you'll feel better."

"Okay," she wiped beneath her bottom lashes again, where the stress had made dark bags and water flowed like a riverbank, then cleared her throat. "Let's go then, if that's what you want to do."

"I do. It's been a long time, hasn't it? I feel like I haven't washed your hair since we left."

"It's been years." Her focus clung to the tapestry, presenting White Diamond's garden and all its flowers in bloom. "I can't believe how long it's been."

"Let's go then. Show me, please."

"Yes, My Lady."

Black Diamond and Pearl exited the room with soap in hand and made the long trip down the hall together. With an empress by association in tow, the pair caught even more attention than Pearl by herself, and passing gems began to stop and bow. Their eyes widened when they caught her, and they might have gasped as they dipped their heads in reverence. Black Diamond responded by sighing.

It went on that way until they finally reached the bath, having been gasped at when they removed their clothing, and gasped at when they went to the water, and gasped at when they entered it. Black Diamond didn't look at any of them. She barely regarded Pearl, focusing on her hazy feet beneath the steaming water while Pearl set shampoo into her hair.

All the others had moved to the corners of the pool to allot them plenty of room. Many quickly finished, leaving only Black Diamond and Pearl.

Both sat in silence as the waves whispered. Even when Black Diamond shed a few tears, she never spoke to accompany them, nor did Pearl respond. She simply did her work and distributed the shampoo through her lady's thick locks.

The water swirled with the remnants of dusty pink soap, but no gold glitter settled along the water's surface as it had years ago. Instead of collecting the markings of a queen, the soap brushed away the dirt and sweat of their travels. This bath was much too large, much too public; the private moment shared between Black Diamond and Pearl became a spectacle for the curious gazes of White Diamond's court.

They finished when Black took the soap and cleaned her body herself, rinsing her dirt away. Then they dressed in their old clothes, returned to the room, and began preparing their bags.

Black Diamond had already loaded hers by the time Pearl had taken her pack from the ground.

"My Lady," she said, "Are you feeling better?"

Black rolled her lips. "Perhaps a little? I'll have to see, once we leave this place."

Pearl hesitated. She picked beneath her nails and swallowed the sentence fragments in her throat. "Are you certain you don't want to stay just a little while longer, My Diamond?"

Black gave her a look that was nearly as sharp as one of the corners of her gem, but looked away once Pearl's face wrenched in pain.

"I am certain, Pearl. And I wish you wouldn't call me 'My Diamond,' even if you are nervous." She started toward the door. "Let's try to find somewhere no one will recognize us."

"Alright," Pearl said and followed her Diamond into the wilderness.

All of White's servants greeted them on the way out. Each of the Pearls, the Quartzes, and any noble lady stopped and bowed to Black Diamond. Every one of them waited until she passed before going back to their business. Some stood there, long seconds after both she and her Pearl had moved on, having stared at the floor in reverence.

After corridor upon corridor of groveling servants, Black Diamond and Pearl finally reached the back entrance which led directly to White's garden. They squinted in the sunlight but were blinded by the added glow of multicolored scales and the nonstop sparkling of a certain stone.

"Are you truly leaving?"

"We are. Thank you for your hospitality, White." Black took a few steps into the grass before the other Diamond spoke again.

"You're welcome to stay longer. You both only just arrived here."

"I'm aware, thank you."

White took her hand from Luna's chin and kept pace with Black, walking by her side. "Will you speak to me for just one moment?"

Black kept up quick steps before White passed her. They caught one another's glances and Black stopped, but didn't relent. The light hit her irises and showed her Diamond-shaped pupils—the same variety she connected stares with at that moment.

Black crossed her arms. "I'm listening."

"Thank you. I'll try and make this quick. I understand that you're angry with me, but if you're not going to stay, I'd like to at least pay you back somehow. After all, I wouldn't be here to enjoy my newly unified empire if it weren't for you. I've prepared gifts—"

"I don't need any gifts, thank you." Black began to walk away and Pearl followed.

"Don't you care to hear what they are?"

"No, thank you."

"Black, please." White followed closely, easily. The pace led them all to the edge of her garden.

Black Diamond turned around. " _Stop._ I don't want you to follow me and I'm not interested in your gifts. I appreciate your generosity, but you've done enough."

"I'm sorry."

Neither moved. Where any lesser gem might look away, White held Black just as fiercely in her gaze. Her silver brows had bent and her plump lips frowned, but she didn't turn away. "Even if you won't accept my gifts, I'm grateful to you, Black Diamond. If you ever find yourself less angry with me and you're in need of anything at all, come back. You're always welcome here. That's all I wished to say."

With that she turned away and walked back to Luna, who set their foreheads together after releasing a mouthful of smoke. Black stood exactly in her place, fists clenched, and she too made a fire in her throat. For a brief moment, she turned to look at White, whom Luna cuddled mercilessly. For the few seconds their attention sparked, the dragon set her chin upon her master's head and closed her eyes, having flattened some of her silver hair.

Black Diamond turned away and continued down the lush side of the mountain.


	10. Chapter 10

A few days before the festival, Black Diamond and Pearl stood within the field of syrup trees, having asked to help with beverage production. Dressed in cotton gowns as to not ruin their finer clothes, Black and Pearl surveyed the rows of trees and their buckets, picking up the ones that had filled with sap. Pearl couldn't quite lift a full bucket, but pointed them out to her Diamond, who came to assist, gold cheeks and gem sparkling when she moved.

The eldest Coal stood on the sidelines as well, overseeing both Black Diamond and syrup production. She watched as seriously as ever, eyes never straying from the field and arms crossed behind her back. Her long, symmetrical braid blew in the breeze that sometimes upset a few pink petals and sent them across the field.

All the trees were blooming—a fact mirrored by both the copious amounts of petals gathering into every corner of the city, as well as many of the Coals dressed head to foot in pink. The workers in the grove blended in with the trees, as the dark branches of their long and elegant arms complemented the delicate pink of their outfits.

It was as Black brought a bucket of syrup to the owner of the trees that someone ran toward them, announcing an accident had happened in the mines. She had come to tell the elder Coal, but even from her spot within the field, Black Diamond heard and no sooner followed.

Apparently, there had been a cave in, and while the townspeople were able to pull everyone out, quite a few were injured—some severely so. All the village healers had come, except for the eldest Coal, and Black Diamond, and Pearl.

"I suppose you'd like to help?" The eldest asked, and after a moment added, "My Diamond?"

"Yes. I want to do whatever I can," Black answered, and they arrived on the scene.

"My Diamond—" One of the civilians went to Black immediately, inspiring a look from the the eldest. "Her gem—"

The crowd had made a clearing for the injured, festively dressed gems standing still in a circle, as still as the trees they imitated. Some had helped to clear the rubble and wore dirt in addition to their rosy clothes, but could do nothing more than watch as the healers fixed broken arms and legs. Yet, none approached the one with the damaged gem.

She lay in the sand, unconscious with her mouth open, eyes blank as the wind washed apathetically over her. As it brushed particles of sand and the occasional petal past, it also brought with it rumors of Black Diamond resurrecting the 'dead' crow. No one spoke that particular myth too loudly. She was, after all, standing right there, but there were certain iterations that had warped. One version in particular stated that Black had brought a bird to life from stone. Another stated she had pulled it from the earth.

Black spoke before the breeze could tell any more lies. "What's the procedure for a cracked gem?"

The elder answered, "There really is no procedure. They almost always die."

The wind stopped whispering then, and Black Diamond fell onto her knees before the coming corpse. "At least let me try…" With Pearl at her side, she set her hands over the broken gem, situated above the Coal's heart.

"Of course," said the eldest, and again added, "My Diamond. Let me know you need anything."

Since the incident with the crow, swirling right overhead, Black and Pearl had began studying the healing arts. At least once a week, amongst town meetings, observation, and assisting with events, the eldest Coal would come and teach them about herbs, and which ones to use and which ones not to use, and about redirecting negative energy, and about clearing their minds of poisonous worry.

She instructed them that it was like a cleansing, where their hands could draw out the pain by grasping it and gently tugging, even though at first it would seem slippery and impossible to get a hold of.

It was like that. Black in particular could practically see and feel the pain, as if she were standing in the middle of a garden with the leaves of some root vegetable brushing against her feet. Yet, trying to tear them out was like going at it with hands covered in grease. Her fingers, coated and anxious, couldn't grasp the leaves and pull out the goddamned carrot. They slipped and tore at the stem, breaking it, making it impossible to remove.

"You're doing fine," The eldest Coal told her. "You're just too eager. Calm down, and try focusing on _where_ you're pulling it out. You'll get that goddamned carrot. Just give it time. Not like that one—"

At that point, both of them looked to Pearl, who was attempting to treat a pregnant woman by whooshing her hands around over her bulbous stomach. Her eyes entirely wide, Pearl looked up but didn't stop the slow-moving fan of her hands. "You mean I'm not helping?"

The mother patted her upon the head. "You're making me smile."

Pearl was better at potion mixing anyway and left the energy manipulation to her Diamond, but there wasn't one potion or spell either of them learned for a cracked gem. Black just closed her eyes, and with the sweat mixing into her gold powder, did her best.

This pain was different than the bodily pains Black had dealt with before. These were more like the ink leaking out of an ocean trench, and she had to remove the trauma before sealing both sides back together. With her own hands, she took the ache as if she were erasing the incident itself, and the procedure left Black's body cold and a little hollow, but she absorbed the pain and came to sweat it out moments later.

After a minute when she pulled her hand away, the crowd gasped and Pearl held more tightly to her Diamond's arm. While her gem wasn't entirely mended, pieces of it adhered more closely together. Deep trenches that sectioned it apart had become shallower and the edges of the cracks drew more closely to one another. The Coal, whose breath came so quietly and infrequently, began to inhale and exhale normally.

Taking one step forward, the elder said, "Keep going!" as the crowd, and the wind, watched in silence.

Her gold smeared, she injected her life and power into the cracks. With each passing minute, the injured Coal held onto her, slowly coming back, and finally opened her eyes after a long hour beneath Black's hands.

She awoke with a violent breath and a perfect gem. Black nearly collapsed as the Coal sat up, uninhibited and lively.

"My Diamond—" She scrambled to her feet before taking steps away and bowing low. Her face nearly made contact with the sand in showing her reverence, and everyone else, ceasing their applause, came to do the same.

It didn't matter that their Diamond could hardly stand, or that the sweat had smudged her face and ran the glitter down her cheeks. It didn't matter that she was shaking, nearly crying and holding Pearl like a woman strangling a pillow on a birthing bed. They had witnessed her power and buried themselves in the dirt.

When Black finally stood, she turned to find the eldest on the ground as well. She didn't cower as much as the others, but lowered her head so her perfect braid swept at the dirt.

Black attempted to raise her voice over the resounding silence. The wind and the crowd and everything between had gone mute. The crows watching perpetually overhead didn't speak over the stillness with even a whisper. Black Diamond herself had no voice left and walked home without a word uttered to Pearl.

Surely, within a few minutes, even—the wind would pick up again and carry bloated and exaggerated rumors for those not present for the resurrection, though Black Diamond would tell them it wasn't a resurrection at all if she could.


	11. Chapter 11

Black Diamond and Pearl entered the forest and didn't turn back. Black would slow occasionally to dry her eyes, but they only stopped if she wished to sleep, and Pearl followed in loyal silence.

Occasionally, a question would boil inside Pearl's mouth. She kept it and stewed upon it and pushed it around with her tongue as if trying to make it into meringue. When she finally did turn it to paste, she swallowed her inquiry whole and kept it amongst the whispers of the wind and the trees and the solemn footsteps of her downtrodden lady.

They came to a village of Amethysts, who bowed as they walked into town. Many of them stopped exactly where they stood upon meeting Black Diamond's silhouette and set themselves into the dust. They didn't notice her passing until lifting their heads to looked at her, but none had the courage to chase after her.

Dressed in their rags, Black Diamond and Pearl traveled through towns and villages silently and slowly as though death were passing through. Sometimes they ran into life-sized statues of White Diamond, standing proud amongst the gems who bowed in the streets.

The gems in these villages offered to her their goods, gold, fabrics, wine, weapons, anything they could, but Black Diamond and Pearl only took enough to sustain themselves. They never slept anywhere but in the wilderness and spoke only of necessity.

Eventually, the dense forest grew sparse, where the trees became less congested. At a certain point, they disappeared altogether for long stretches of sand and the sun baking overhead.

The birds circled as they cast their shadows.

Finally, Black Diamond stopped.

"My Lady?"

She kept her quiet while a crow cried above them.

Pearl knit her fingers together, but didn't speak. A bead of sweat rolled along her face as her lips coiled and her stomach curled. "My lady," she managed quietly, "Are we going home?"

Black Diamond turned to look at Pearl. Her body shook as though subjected to an earthquake and she covered her face with her hands. Pearl wrapped her arms around her lady's legs immediately and held tightly.

Black Diamond carried on about a minute before stopping to speak. "I abandoned them—" She gasped. "I kept hoping if we went out far enough, we'd eventually come to a place where they didn't know, but every time, they just start bowing before I even speak—" she dried her eyes. "I know of one other village out that way. If the gems there already know my identity, I'm not sure what we'll do. But just maybe…"

Pearl continued her embrace, but knit her brows. "Will we live there if they don't know?"

Black Diamond didn't answer.

Pearl pulled away. "My Lady, I need to say something."

Black's somber eyes granted Pearl their full attention.

"I've made a promise that I'll stay by your side no matter what, and that's still true, but this is killing me. We've been wandering for so long, and you're still unhappy. If the gems in the next village don't know who you are, we'll have to stay here, right? But what if they find out? Everyone else has."

"What are you getting at?"

Pearl gulped. "Maybe we should go back and stay with White Diamond."

" _What?_ "

"She didn't seem like she wanted to force you to be a queen, and she had food and beds and plenty of resources—"

"Stop."

They looked at one another.

"If we stay with White, you'll probably be forced to behave like all of the other Pearls at her palace. It won't be like the last time. Perhaps she doesn't want me to be a queen, but she wants something from me, I'm sure of it. I doubt she's really invited us out of kindness." Black Diamond sighed. "I'm sorry, Pearl. Let's just keep moving."

"Madame, I don't think you're going to find happiness over there. Maybe it's time…"

" _Time to what?_ "

Pearl looked at the hot sand beneath her feet, "Time to accept that you're a Diamond."

Black stared at her a long time, but Pearl didn't bother reciprocating. After a gulp, however, she elaborated while picking her nails. "It just seems like living in White's palace is the best-case scenario. Whatever she wants from you, ruling her empire probably isn't it. I doubt you'll be any more miserable than you are right now, and at least in that scenario you would have food and a place to sleep."

Black Diamond turned to stare into the distance.

"Aren't you tired?"

"I'm definitely tired" Black began to walk again. Her supplies weighed upon her shoulders, and Pearl followed within the boundaries of her lady's shadow.

They continued through the desert and the outlines the birds cast grew larger. The sun declined from its position overhead and those long shapes seemed to dull around their sharp edges. It was only when Pearl made out the shadow of an arm had she looked up and saw the silhouette of a winged woman.

"Madame—"

Black caught the figure as she flew away.

"What was that?" Pearl stopped but her Diamond continued.

"A gem, I imagine."

As the pair made tracks in the sand, the silhouettes kept circling overhead, two of them, and then three. Their shadows moved faster each time and soon revealed the outlines of swords and shields.

Occasionally, one would dive down like a hawk scooping up prey only to rocket back into the sky a moment later. Her wings caused an upset that blew the travelers around, and through that wind came glimpses of blue that nearly matched the sky.

Pearl kept closer to her Diamond each time one of the harpies came nearer.

Eventually, the entire group of three swept down and landed before the pair. They kept hands on swords they had yet to draw and allowed their water wings to drop into the sand.

"You two are headed awfully close to our village."

"What sort of gem are you and what is your purpose?"

Black Diamond put up her hands. "I'm Coal and this is my Pearl. We're travelers in search of a place to stay."

"If you're a Coal, why don't you live with your people?"

"What crime did you commit?"

"And why are you so far out?"

The trio glared, turned up their noses and sneered, awaiting her answer.

"I haven't committed any crime and I prefer to travel. Neither my Pearl nor myself want to cause trouble, but we do need food and a place to sleep. We would be willing to work around town for both of these accommodations—"

"What skills do either of you have?"

"We're healers."

"Healers?"

"Prove it." One of them pulled out her sword and cut the end of her finger. Unfazed, she sheathed her weapon and held out her hand while dark blue blood leaked into the sand.

Black Diamond gasped and covered the wound with her fingers. For a cut that small, she merely needed to focus, and after a few seconds, the lesion sealed completely and its owner's eyes widened in shock. The other two took steps back.

"We'll tell Lady Lapis of your powers."

"I'm sure she'll have some use for you."

The three of them flew away while Black Diamond and Pearl continued walking. Even after the encounter, they didn't speak. They glanced up occasionally, met with the dizzying brightness of the sun, but saw no further sign of the Lapises again. Dragging their feet through the sand, they kept on until hours had passed and the village had finally come into sight, at first appearing to them like a mirage.

The Lapises had carved holes into one of the mountains, made doors and set up dwellings. While approaching, Black Diamond and Pearl watched as some came out and swooped to the ground like birds only to go about their shopping in the center of town. To the left of the mountain awaited a medium-sized palace they had built from wood and plaster, standing at two generous stories.

As Black Diamond came closer, the inhabitants gathered outside the market in anticipation of their guest. They all arrived looking about the same, but wearing many different outfits in an array of colors. Before them stood a Lapis wearing a crown and long, golden robes like the freckles upon her cheeks and speckles across her chest-set gem.

Lady Lapis had crossed her arms and somehow managed to look down at Black Diamond, despite being shorter than Pearl. She narrowed her fierce eyes and opened her voice came out all business, "My girls told me you had healing powers. Is that true?"

"We do."

She scoffed. "I wish you would have been here during the war, then. We might have won."

"I'm sorry." Black Diamond bowed her head.

But Lady Lapis had already moved on. "You said you're a Coal? Why aren't you in your own village?"

"I enjoy travelling, Madame."

She narrowed her eyes. "You must know that seems awfully suspicious, don't you? Our village is a long way out to just wander here and it's odd that you're dressed in tatters, yet you have a Pearl." Lady Lapis chewed on one side of her mouth in staring them down. "However, if you truly do have healing powers, I regret to admit that I need your help. Not only are many of my subjects recovering, but my wife is sick with child. If you can help us, I don't particularly care what crimes you've committed that would make you run away. I'll feed and house you personally, but I need to see it."

She motioned with her arm and a Lapis with a wounded leg flew forward, "How are you with broken bones?"

"I can fix them. She just needs to lie down."

The crowd stared.

"How long will it take?"

"Perhaps ten minutes. It depends on the severity."

"Very well. Show us your abilities."

Black Diamond and Pearl began their procedure once their patient had lain flat upon the ground. Pearl removed her bandages carefully to replace with their own once she had produced the mixture and the gauze. Black helped to set the bones and placed her hands flat over the leg while her palms made heat and magic. The crowd gasped and closed in as the smoke began to rise. Indeed, within about twelve minutes, the mixture had burned off, the spent bandages cracked like weak papier-mâché, and the Lapis could walk again. She stood with little effort.

Lady Lapis had covered her mouth with an open hand, and the others remained quiet. Only when one began to clap did they all follow suit.

"Come back with me," Lady Lapis turned to the modest mansion and motioned to her guests to follow. "We need your help."

"Of course, Madame."

They left the others in the center of town and entered the Lady's home.

Upon entering, a clean floor and a tall ceiling greeted them, with long stretching tiles and a grand staircase that led to the upper level, but where there should have been furniture and paintings was only blank space. Certain sections of wall wore indents from paintings that used to hang up on it, leaving behind only scratches and a little gold dust from the missing frames.

Lady Lapis took Black Diamond and Pearl upstairs, down a hallway, and through more empty space, where all three of them had entered one of the many rooms. Upon the bed in the center lay a lump covered by sheets. Black Diamond looked at the almost perfectly round bump near the middle, as well as the long expanse of dark blue hair belonging to a young child asleep upon the covers.

Lady Lapis came to her wife and sat delicately upon one bed corner to pull back the sheets. She revealed the sleeping gem's face—a woman with eyelashes like a baby doll's and plump lips—in order to kiss her upon the cheek. She shifted and showed her golden irises only when Lady Lapis had set her mouth upon her forehead.

"Darling, how are you feeling?"

She took a moment to shake off the haze. "I could be better, but I feel okay."

"I didn't want to wake you, but I found someone who might be able to help. I watched her heal a broken leg just a little while ago. Are you feeling up to talking to her?"

"Of course." Her striking eyes shifted to Black Diamond a moment before meeting up again with her wife's. "She's awfully large. Am I hallucinating?"

Lady Lapis laughed, but quietly, as not to wake the sleeping child. "No. She is very tall."

The pregnant woman giggled as well before twisting her lovely features. "This is the last baby we're going to have." The couple looked at one another. The Lapis with the golden eyes furrowed her brows. "I can't even laugh with you."

"I know. I'm sorry." Lady Lapis placed her hand upon her lover's middle, right at the apex of her belly. "I'll miss you being this round. You look so cute, even though I hate to see you sick."

"Only you would say that. I'm bigger than this house."

"That's not true. You still fit inside don't you? You might be as big as someone else's house, but that's neither here nor there."

"Shut up."

Both of them ended up laughing.

"If it makes you feel any better, you're the prettiest house I've ever seen."

"And you're the loveliest bitch." She smiled, but expelled a few tears from the pain. "Let me talk to your healer. I want to try and spend a few hours awake today."

"Of course," Lady Lapis set her serious stare onto the guests and summoned them forward with a motion of her hand. From there, she allowed Black Diamond to come nearer, but kept a close distance with her arms crossed and her attention unadulterated.

"Hello. I'm Coal. I'm certain I'll be able to help you, but can you tell me about your pain?"

She swallowed before speaking and expelled a few more tears. "Where do I even begin? I feel constantly nauseous and tired. My stomach aches. I'm so lopsided I can't even fly." She released a long sigh in lamentation and looked away.

"Have you been eating well?"

"Probably a little too well."

Black Diamond laughed. "I'm sure your baby is happy with that. Would you mind if I take a look?"

"Please."

Black lifted the blanket and exposed her round stomach, whose skin reflected gold as though someone had taken a brush and painted over her skin in patterns that resembled stars. Her gem held even thicker veins of pyrite than her wife's did, and from its placement upon her hip stretched a band that circled around her stomach.

Black Diamond asked, "Do you know if it's only one child?"

"I was about this big the last time."

"I see." Black rested her hand gently upon the mother's stomach. "Pearl, will you prepare an elixir for her pain? I'm going to soothe her for the time being."

Just as Black spoke, another wave of agony hit the woman, but her palm lifted from its position and boiled the ache away with the heat she made. Black closed her eyes and Pearl worked around her, going into various pockets to pull out herbs and oils that she mixed together. Her lady moved her hand in a steady circle all the while, removing the pain and bringing the blue woman back.

Pearl finished her potion and gave it to the Lapis to drink. She had sat up by herself, which caused her wife to gasp, and ingested every last drop of it with an arm covering the cloth around her breasts, brows crooked and tears prickling within the corners of her eyes.

"I feel so—" she covered her mouth and gathered her composure. "I feel so normal—" A gasp. "Thank you."

Lady Lapis immediately wrapped her arms around her wife, but looked at Black Diamond as her partner leaked tears of joy.

"Thank you, Coal." Lady Lapis set her lips upon her lover's. "Would you stay here for the night? We may need your help again."

"We would be happy to."

"Help me get dressed for dinner, Love—" the pregnant woman stood up on her own two feet. "I want to sit at the table tonight."

Black Diamond watched as the pair dried their eyes and held one another. Shortly after, she and Pearl left to allow them some privacy, but the silence still clung from the walk over. "Thank you for your help, Pearl," but Black Diamond's voice came out quietly.

"Of course, My Lady."

They waited for Lady Lapis to tell them what to do next, with stomachs full of words and no syllables to express them.


	12. Chapter 12

Decades into her reign, the rains that would nourish the syrup trees had stopped and the desert dried. What plants there were grew brittle and died, leaving nothing to trade and nothing to bring back. The rich syrup thickened and hardened in the trees and would only come out after so much coaxing, where it hardly seemed worth the trouble.

The Coals began to eat the tough syrup, as it was one of the only items at the market anymore, and even then, had to give up an entire coin for it. The ones who owned the orchard tried to make it more palatable by dipping it in water, but it had little effect. The dehydrated syrup sunk to the bottom of the bowl and sat, stubborn as ever.

Still, the market sold out of those hard, sugary pieces every time. The Coals put them in their mouths to dissolve, but aside from the sweet flavor, they remained obstinate as stones.

The slender bodies of the people grew even more slender. Their beautiful skin became ashen and bones protruded beneath it, until they resembled elegant skeletons, collapsing in the streets like corpses dropped from the back of a cart.

Through all of this, they prayed to Black Diamond. Unable to work and unable to eat, they bowed in droves to her statue, lined up in circles around every angle of it, to offer wilted flowers and I-owe-you notes they attached to her arms with brittle string.

Some had come to pray outside her door as well, treating it as the entrance to a shrine. Each morning, Black Diamond would come outside, before Pearl or anyone else had woken and found at least one Coal there, sometimes unconscious with a wreath of old pink flowers to offer. The points of their spines poked out under their skin, and no matter how unconscious they seemed, they would jolt awake each time the door opened. They left their offerings as they ran like timid stray cats on rickety legs, tripping in the sand at least once.

Some didn't abscond, however. They would bow instead, quivering, ready to be smote by their goddess' shadowy powers. Out of desperation they begged, "My Lustrous Diamond—" Choking, they would offer her flowers, "I'm sorry for whoever wronged you. I'm sorry for my own sins against you, but can you please make the syrup come back? We'll do anything."

She would try to answer, but that was when they would normally run. Already nervous, they would panic before her spell could touch them. Some stayed to listen, but didn't seem to believe it when she said she had nothing to do with the drought. They would nod and eventually go away, shaking, sometimes crying, because they failed to convince her they were worthy of saving.

Black Diamond sold all the furniture in her house. She gave them to the merchants to trade for food, which they brought back and divided amongst the town. She surrendered every piece in her home, every chair and table and gold-plated picture frame. Her makeup ran out, and she traded all her vases; she broke down her bed and sold her silks, until she and Pearl wore cotton and slept on a cushion on the floor. Their bones, too, protruded and poked one another as they tried to sleep.

Even then, Black Diamond lay awake most nights. If there was food, she fed Pearl before herself, and her people still blamed her. With every healing herb spent and the town coffers empty, citizens began dying in the streets. On any given day, new bodies would collapse in the heat, thin and hollow like dry sticks in the sand. Overnight, they would disappear. Black wouldn't order their disposal, but they would vanish anyway, and the next day more would drop.

When the first body had fallen dead in the streets, the Coals had called Black Diamond. She was still breathing as she hit the ground, after all, but when Black arrived, the Coal had already starved fully to death. She placed her hands upon her and didn't find any pain to cure, or any illness. Where before, Black might have been able to feel the force of her blood as it flowed throughout her body, or her steady heart beat, or the rhythm of her breath, every part of her was still and hard as her gem.

No matter what her people believed her capable of, Black Diamond couldn't inspire life from stone. For them, for the dead Coal, she tried for hours, but her withered and skeletal body never moved from the dirt. It never claimed its lively color back. Those watching kept ready to cheer, but that victorious moment never came, and Black Diamond and Pearl walked home in tears.

It became harder to tell if those bowing in the sand around their Diamond's statue had come to pray or if they had died. Perhaps some had died praying, and they too, would disappear.

From her empty palace, Black Diamond cried. Pearl would brush her hair with a wooden comb (they had sold the ivory one) while she emptied herself of tears, until dry sobs were all she could produce. Pearl would embrace her, and Black would squeeze her inside long, lanky arms. For moments, they would remain that way, two skeletons as still as the bodies in the street.

One day, fat, greedy clouds cluttered the sky but refused to rain. From the ground, they appeared plump and swollen, filled with furtive darkness that had everyone praying, but few drops actually fell. Black Diamond and Pearl clapped their hands together too, but not three minutes in, someone knocked on the door.

In their empty bedroom with boney knees stabbing the thin cushion, both straightened their backs.

"Pearl, I'll get the door."

"Are you sure, My Lady?"

"Yes, you stay here."

Black's body popped and creaked like old furniture when she stood, as well as each time she took a step downstairs. Her feet patted across the empty floor, where even the wood had been stripped and sold. With hesitation, Black opened the door and found the elder, already pursing her lips and squeezing her hands together.

Upon her Diamond answering, she bowed low upon legs well fatter than average. Her body appeared thinner than normal, but her cheek bones didn't protrude enough; her ribs weren't visible enough, nor her elbows sharp enough.

Black leaned against the door frame. "Greetings, Elder."

"My Diamond—" She didn't stop groveling, quivering from feelings outside of hunger. "I don't know what's going on, but…" Her throat produced a dry gulp. "Is there any way you can put a stop to this?" Each wrist of her five golden bangles chimed as she shook. "I thought this happened because they angered you somehow—and it was a good punishment, but my funds are draining—"

" _Stop!_ " Black stirred and nearly fell, standing upright but holding tight to the frame. "I'm not responsible for this! I can't believe you of all gems would believe such a thing!" Her head swam and the world spun.

The elder bowed and a cruel wind rustled her jewelry before she spoke again. "I've never seen a drought this bad, My Diamond." Black heard a gulp before she bowed even lower. "I know that all of us are truly responsible, and I'm sorry if I myself have ever disrespected you, but please find it in your heart to have mercy upon us-"

"Get out of my sight. Don't come back here unless you want to discuss a solution."

Nearly stumbling, she slammed the door to weeping and went back upstairs to weep herself.

Over the next few days, the clouds produced a few droplets of rain, but nothing substantial. From her window, Black Diamond watched her people put a hand up when they sky dropped a bit of water, but it never spilled over. On the third humid and overcast day, Black stepped outside with Pearl at her side, and they too, held their hands out for the stingy rain to barely touch them.

With the harsh blanket of clouds, the hot day grew even hotter, and Black and Pearl sat upon the porch with their naked feet in the sand. Both leaned in some way. Black had hunched forward and Pearl collapsed onto one of beams of the house. Closing her eyes, Pearl began to breathe slowly and stood in the doorway between consciousness and unconsciousness. Every so often, her crusty lashes would flutter open, her attention would latch onto her Diamond, and her lids would press closed in the haze of the heat.

After several minutes Black turned to her and brushed her hair with a few fingers, studying her features.

Though her Diamond had kept her better fed than most of the villagers, her cheekbones still protruded, as well as her collarbones. The newer and more drastic angles of her face drew up dramatic shadows, darkening her eye sockets and drawing signs of age around her mouth and neck, where there should have been none. Even beneath her yellow cotton dress, her knees appeared sharp and knobby.

"Pearl," Black Diamond's hands swept through her hair again. "Should we go back inside?"

She hardly responded. The slow breathing of her pseudo sleep went on, and though her eyes opened briefly, they shut again as quickly. Her body shifted, but didn't wake, even when her Diamond placed her arms around her and lifted her from the porch.

Like a ragdoll, Pearl settled into the cradle made for her. Her limbs dangled and she didn't wake as Black Diamond brought her back upstairs, even with the floorboards creaking and her carrier shifting. Only when a few more droplets landed onto her face did she speak.

"Is it finally raining, My Diamond?"

The downpour came on more strongly then, as they moved into the barren upstairs, where only one room contained some evidence of past wealth—the bathroom, whose enormous tub still stood in the center.

"Please don't cry, My Lady." Pearl spoke with little energy and Black began running the water.

"I have to cool you down. You've become so warm."

"You must be warm too, My Diamond. I can feel it."

Black set Pearl onto the floor and stripped away her cotton and dipped her hand into the tub. The water was hot from being outside and underground, but cooler than the air around them, thick enough to swim through. Once only about a forth full, Black set Pearl into it, slowly. That was all the water she could pull from the faucette.

"Are we in the ocean, My Diamond?"

"No, Pearl," she took some soap to rid her servant of the sweat, and started at her collarbones. "We're only in the bath."

"But…" Pearl seemed to sleep again in the short waves of the water and the cleansing of her Lady's hands, which made their way to her stomach before she finally continued, "I'm supposed to wash your hair."

"No, Pearl," Black continued on to her legs, lifting each one carefully and lathering it in soap.

Outside began to darken as the air grew somehow thicker with both teasing electricity and palpable frustration. Somewhere in the distance, Black could nearly hear a miserable prayer of a chorus of voices, and by its tempo, she washed Pearl's hair and rid the last of her sweat.

Instead of pulling her straight from the shallow, soapy pool, however, Black held her little hand as the sky grew dark. Beneath the pall of apathetic rain clouds, she whispered, "Pearl."

Even then, the sleepy servant hardly responded.

"I think it's time we go."

"Go?" Drowsily, Pearl opened her eyes.

"There's nothing more I can do here."

Where Black Diamond would have cried was nothing more than dry heaving. Her ducts were as dry as her statue's outside, still littered with dead flowers and illegible wishes. Even so, she went through the symptoms of weeping, and Pearl managed to hold her hand just a little tighter.

"I'll follow you anywhere, My Diamond."

"Thank you." She kissed Pearl's forehead and both of her cheeks. High from the heat and dizzy from emotion, Black pulled her from the tub and wrapped Pearl in the same oversized towel she would have used herself.

Carrying Pearl to the bedroom, along with her outfit, Black packed a small sack of things upon arriving. Using nothing more than the bath towel folded into a makeshift bag, she collected a few of their plain cotton outfits, the comb, and several empty glass bottles. Then she dressed Pearl and waited, as any light left passed away and the night became just as dark as the heart of her gem and the roots of her hair.

She wrote a note and carried her bag and her Pearl to the front door, quietly stepping away from her empty palace.

In the heavy night, Black Diamond found her statue—at that point a healthier, happier version of herself—and draped her note around its neck. With Pearl over one shoulder and their meager sack in the other, she exited her village, looking back every few seconds, even in the severe darkness.

When her people woke the next morning, they would find a sign around their goddess's neck that said, 'Forget me' in large letters, and would be just as alone.


	13. Chapter 13

Black Diamond and Pearl stayed the night in one of Lady Lapis's guest rooms, sleeping side by side with Black's legs hanging off the edge of the Lapis-sized bed. The owner had apologized for the dimensions of it, with a grimace and a sigh.

Regardless, Black slept like the dead and awoke only when the harsh morning light flooded the window. She stood and wandered to the source of the sunshine, resting her hand upon the frame and looking out into the inactive town. A wind came and combed its fingers through her hair, chilling her.

Someone knocked on the door and without awaiting the response, stuck her head in.

"You're up." Lady Lapis had yet to put on her crown and wore heavy bags beneath her deep blue eyes. "I'd like to talk to you. Can you come down stairs?"

"Yes, of course."

Lady Lapis closed the door behind Black Diamond, who followed right after her. The pair walked through the hallway and down the stairs until reaching the main room. The Lady's quick feet had stopped in the center of the floor, and she rolled her lips with the threat of coming words.

When Black Diamond neared, she finally spoke, "I'm still not sure about you, and I'm sure you know that, but you've caught me in a very desperate time. I don't usually allow strangers to stay in my home or even my city, but I haven't seen my wife so active for months. I'm not sure what you've done to need to come all the way out here, but at this point, I'm not sure I care." She continued looking into Black Diamond's dark gaze despite pausing and picking at her lips. "My people need your help."

A pause stretched out where Black would reply, but bent her brows instead.

Lady Lapis continued, "White Diamond and her damned army damaged a lot of our town." Her attention wavered and rolled to the smooth tiles on the floor. "I would appreciate if you could assist with the survivors. I don't know your powers, but some of them are missing limbs or recovering from wounds. A lot of them are still at the hospital." Lady Lapis paused. "If you could help them, I'll allow you to stay and give you and your Pearl food and water."

"I would be happy to help, but I need more supplies. I don't have enough medicine for the entire village with me."

"I anticipated that. If you need anything at all, tell me."

"I will, thank you."

For a moment, Lady Lapis said nothing. She stopped looking at Black Diamond and instead studied her front door. The morning light brought out the weathered features of her face, as well as the untouched gold shimmering upon her cheeks. "I wish you would have come here sooner." She began to walk away. "I'm going to check on my wife now." But Lady Lapis only ascended a few steps on the staircase before she and Black Diamond looked at one another again. "Do you have any other clothes?"

"I don't."

"I'll provide you with something else to wear. I can't have you staying here dressed in rags. It reflects poorly."

"I understand."

The lady turned around and made her way back to the second floor, slowly as if crushed by an invisible weight and lingering near the upper steps, which she finally crossed after some deliberation.

Black Diamond and Pearl began their time in the village running. Lady Lapis had dressed and fed them and sent them to work at the hospital from their first full day there.

They arrived wrapped in the light blue fabrics to a room full of both exhausted and unconscious women. The healers presented drawn faces with sunken eyes, while the sick and wounded slept or moaned in pain. Some accomplished both and nearly all of them did so beneath bloodied bandages and old blankets no one could afford to replace.

The small staff of healers tended to the forty or so bodies in their care while Black Diamond and Pearl did their best to help.

The other Lapises showed them to the materials they had—an almost empty cabinet inside a meager supply room. The few jars were organized in rows and labelled neatly, though some had nearly been emptied as the herbs in question only covered the very bottom.

"We've had to use a lot of our supplies throughout the course of the war." One of the healers passed by Black Diamond and went for a container. Her bun bobbled with the pace of her feet. "Lady Lapis had ordered more, but it takes a long time because we live so far from everything." She sighed and filled her face mask momentarily with air. "I hope you can help us, but if you can't, no one will blame you."

"I promise that I'll do my best."

The healer's eyes squinted above her hidden smile and she didn't linger a moment longer.

"They really don't have much." Black Diamond bit the nail of her index finger.

"We don't have much either," Pearl responded. "After making that potion for the lady's wife last night, we're running low."

"On everything?"

"Almost."

Black Diamond sighed. "Well, we'll do our best. Can I ask you to make as much elixir as possible?"

"Of course, My Lady," but Pearl's voice came more quietly than usual, and Black Diamond said no more as they went to work.

They spent much of their time and energy replacing old bandages and cleaning wounds. After Pearl had prepared her potion, each patient could only afford a sip. She had produced about a liter, but amongst the forty or so injured gems, it spread thin.

Still, Black Diamond sat with each injured Lapis, one at a time, and sealed their wounds. For the first few, she and Pearl went about the same procedure they always did. The light purple smoke came and stole the open cuts as it disappeared. Some of the other healers stopped to watch her work and some of the injured gems opened their dark blue eyes.

Many had lost entire limbs and a lot of blood, but they parted their lashes and turned their gazes to the lady's near-black irises, breathing more noisily than usual. Despite their sudden attention, none seemed totally awake. Their expressions never shifted outside of slightly parted lips and furrowed brows. Only when Black Diamond finished did their faces relax and their eyes close again.

Upon using all of their own materials, Black resorted to using her powers only. She set her hands over the open wounds and sat for hours as the bleeding ceased and cuts began to close. New skin would take shape beneath her fingers and Pearl almost constantly tended to the sweat upon her brow.

"That's amazing," the healers would comment as they passed by. None could stay and watch very long, but stopped at least occasionally to observe Black Diamond's powers.

Black never answered. Every drop of her focus went into her spell.

The sun came down and the desert sky grew bursts of pink, purple, and orange. The colorful but dim light penetrated the open windows of the medical tent and Black Diamond finally put down her hands.

The wound, an arm that ended at the elbow, had almost stopped bleeding. The tip came together to form a bloody scab with scarring along the edges, and even though Black Diamond had stopped and put her hands at her side, she couldn't keep her eyes off of it.

What finally drew her attention was a lantern that came from her right field of vision.

Her eyes met with those of a healer's.

"Coal, we're changing shifts. You're welcome to go back to Lady Lapis now."

"Thank you."

Pearl wiped the sweat from Black Diamond's brow and the three of them remained exactly where they stood.

"Do you remember where it is? We're a little bit from there."

"I'm sorry. I don't."

"I wouldn't mind showing you. I live in that direction anyway." The lantern squealed a little in her hand as she shifted. "Just let me know when you're ready."

"I only need a minute, thank you."

"Of course, I'll be waiting by the entrance."

The healer walked away and Black Diamond leaned further onto the hard ground and watched as one group of Lapises spoke to another. Each wore the same dark blue fabrics with the same mask and the same tight bun at the crown of their heads. Some had speckles of gold across stretches of skin, but those odd freckles faded into the coming darkness.

"My Lady, are you alright?"

"I'm exhausted."

All of the healers continued to speak and the entire group erupted into laughter.

"You worked hard today."

Black Diamond rose to her feet. "Let's head back. I don't want to keep her waiting."

"Sure, My Lady."

Black and Pearl followed the healer through town as the stars burst from beneath the occasional cloud. Sometimes a lantern would drift overhead along with the sound of flapping wings, but other than that, the town wore silence like a pall that engulfed it as much as the night did.

The party moved with quick steps and upon reaching Lady Lapis's comparable mansion, the guide finally asked, "How did you learn to heal so well?"

"Oh," Black Diamond responded, "I've had a lot of practice."

"Just practice?" She grinned beneath her mask and knocked on the door.

"Really, just practice."

"Well, you should teach us your methods. None of us had ever seen anything like that."

"Perhaps I will."

One of the servants answered the door. "Please come in, Miss Coal."

"You'll come back tomorrow, won't you?" The healer had taken a few steps back.

"I'm sure I will."

"Great. See you then!" After speaking those words, she formed wings and took off, becoming another star in the sky by the light of her lantern.

"Madame," the servant called from the open door. "If you don't mind, Lady Lapis would like to speak to you. She's waiting in her room with her wife."

"Oh, yes. Of course."

Black Diamond and Pearl came inside and climbed the stairs, and upon reaching the second floor, their child ran past them with a doll in her arms. They kept walking, but she paused to stare at Black and Pearl while putting several fingers in her mouth.

Black Diamond turned to smile and wave, but the girl stood exactly in place, golden eyes wide as she moistened her digits with saliva.

From there, Black Diamond knocked on Lady Lapis's bedroom door.

"Come in!"

Black and Pearl entered and found the married couple like they had the first time. The pregnant Lapis lay beneath her piles of blankets while her wife stood by and watched over her.

"Coal, welcome back. How was your day?"

"It was fine, Lady Lapis. Thank you."

She smiled and crossed her arms. "You look exhausted."

"Well," Black Diamond paused. "We worked hard today."

"We appreciate your assistance." She cleared her throat. "Dinner is almost ready, but before we eat, do you think you could help my wife? She's not feeling well."

"Darling, she looks exhausted."

"It's alright," Black answered. "I can help."

"Thank you." Lady Lapis stepped away to allow Black Diamond to use her magic.

Black Diamond lifted the blankets and set her hands to work on the woman's stomach. More slowly than the last time, she drew out the pain until it had been properly expelled and the dullness came out of the gem's eyes. A brightness returned to her face, where it dulled slightly in Black's.

"It might not last as long," Black Diamond said. "We ran out of ingredients for the elixir today."

The little round Lapis took her healer's hand between both of her own. "That's alright. I still feel much better. Thank you."

"Of course, ma'am."

"Let's eat. Laying in bed all day takes so much of my energy."

All four of them went to the dining room and every day after that followed the same events. Each morning, Black Diamond and Pearl would leave around the same time Lady Lapis would, work a complete shift at the hospital, and come home to assist that poor bedridden woman before dinner.

The walks to work each morning always consisted of a silence that possessed the entire town. No one spoke during the early morning hours that injected so many pastels into the sky, but from around the street corner, one could hear the banging of hammers and noise of construction.

From the moment any amount of light yawned across the horizon, the reparations of every chip and hole inside that city began and didn't end until the sun dove beneath the waves and took visibility with it. Lady Lapis assisted in asking her people what they needed, and she did this while walking around her city with a pen, parchment, and a bag of bread for the hungry.

Black Diamond observed her one day outside the healer's tent, severe arms crossed and brow bent with her attention pointed in the distance. With an impatient hand, she motioned someone over and a healer came to speak to her.

"I'm dropping off supplies from the capital, from the _generous_ White Diamond herself."

"Are the supplies you asked the runners to pick up still coming, My Lady?"

"Why, yes, they are. I have no way to get into contact with them, so they should be back, ironically, _today._ "

"Well, this is wonderful. We'll have a surplus of medical supplies."

"Yes, but I could have saved the funds and rebuilt more of this city. The runners could have stayed and helped as well."

Just then, a Quartz warrior arrived, pulling behind her a cart of supplies. Upon seeing her, even from her position near the back of the tent, Black Diamond gasped and folded by bringing her chest closer to her knees. She stopped healing her patient and hid behind a cascade she made from her hair, pulling it before her face as though she were drawing a shade. Pearl panicked and did the same and the pair appeared as two boulders,huddling side by side.

"My Diamond has asked me to inform you, Lady Lapis, that she's sending a group of us to help with reparations—"

"I know. You already said that. The fact still remains that I used precious resources when a lot of my people are hungry or could have used the help. Now is not the time to waste even a copper piece and some of those herbs are extremely expensive. _Honestly_."

Lady Lapis made a few footsteps in the sand. The sound came of a heavy sack making contact with the ground, as well as the chiming of glass bottles against one another.

"Come along. We're headed towards the farm next."

"Yes, Ma'am."

The cart squeaked away and Black Diamond finally parted her veil of hair.

"Coal, Pearl! Look!" One of the healers came to her with a jar full of premade pain elixir. "We have supplies now! I suppose White Diamond sent them."

"Wonderful."

Pearl rose to wipe the sweat from her Diamond's brow.

That night, Black and Pearl made it back before Lady Lapis did and went upstairs alone to assist her wife. The woman turned to them as they appeared within the doorframe with a few tears leaking from her golden eyes. The droplets drained onto the pillow beneath her mass of ruined hair. Yet, she turned back and touched her staring daughter on the shoulder.

"Little one, can you go play somewhere else? Miss Coal is going to help mommy feel better."

The girl looked to her mother and then to Black Diamond and then to her mother again and blinked her round eyes.

"It will only take a few moments, I promise."

The tiny creature's cheeks had turned deep blue.

"Do you want to show Miss Coal how you can fly?"

Her mouth broke into a smile. "Yeah…"

"Okay. Show Miss Coal how you can fly."

The child put four fingers into her mouth as she summoned her wings and stood upon clumsy legs. They dropped her once before she stood again.

"Take your hand out of your mouth, please."

She did and wiped it along her skirt.

"Okay, are you ready? One, two, three, fly!"

Even after that, the girl hesitated a moment before jumping onto the bed and launching into flight. Giggling, she made a few circles and zipped past the guests, right over Pearl's head, and into the hallway where her loud laughter echoed.

"Alright, little one! It's time to land!"

Her mirth sounded until her mother began to count down from ten. Then her two feet patted upon the ground and her echoing laughter remained.

Lapis struggled to cast the blankets off of her. "I'm sorry about that."

"No, no need to apologize. She's very cute. Pearl—"

But Pearl had already produced a vial of elixir that she gave to the woman in bed, while Black Diamond worked with her hands, heating up near the mother's stomach.

"Thank you. I don't think you'll have to do this much longer." The features of her face relaxed as her head sank further into the plush pillow. "Any day now…I'm sorry to trouble you."

"It's no trouble at all." Black Diamond took her agony away. "If you don't mind me saying, it's impressive you were able to conceive again. Most gems don't even experience this once."

"I know, lucky me." She snorted before reading the ceiling, adjusting the gears of her throat. "We really tried this time. The first one was mostly unintentional, but my wife came to me not too long ago and told me she wanted another baby. I'm sure you've noticed that she's not the most romantic of gems, but something in the way she said it…she took me by the hand and was so sincere, I couldn't say no. It took a while, but look at me now, wobbling around like a champ. Have you ever carried?"

"Oh, no," heat swayed the color of Black's face. "I've only ever worked with expecting mothers. I have been curious though, how it feels."

"It's awful. Now you know. Don't try it unless you're madly in love with a gem who can convince you that you're still beautiful—even when you're as big as someone else's house." Both of them laughed. "I'm serious though. That second part isn't optional. Your partner better love you when you're bloated and angry, because what are you going to do when you're slightly less bloated, but sleep deprived, so you know— _even angrier_ , but now you have a screaming baby too? It's not easy and some gems have a whole litter."

"I've seen it happen."

"I'm sure you have. I hope you don't see it happen again any time soon. As if we haven't been through enough."

"I'm sorry."

"No; what are you apologizing for? It was just poor timing."

Black Diamond grinned and finished healing her. Shortly after that, the three went downstairs for dinner to find that Lady Lapis had indeed arrived and had scooped her daughter into her arms. She greeted them with her serious regard, breaking her eye contact occasionally to kiss the youngest on the cheek when she fidgeted or tried to escape.

Together, they sat at the dinner table and shared half a loaf of bread, three oranges and pomegranate seeds, and a few slices of meat. After eating, they wished one another goodnight and returned to their rooms, where Black Diamond set herself next to the window and its gratuitous moonlight.

Even though she faced the window, Pearl could still see her furrowed brow. She watched as her lady expelled a breath slowly, picking at her nails.

"Hey, are you alright?"

Black Diamond didn't answer right away. "I suppose so."

Pearl stood next to her Diamond, who set a hand upon her shoulder. Though Black didn't turn to her, Pearl caught the bags beneath her eyes, which had grown on her face as well.

"Do you want to stay? With the Quartzes here…"

"We have to stay. This family needs us; this town needs us, at least for the time being. But I still don't want any of them to find out. We work hard here, but…"

Pearl paused before wrapping her arms around what parts of her Diamond she could. In return, Black picked her up and held her near, still staring into that wild patch of bright stars.

"They'll probably find out within a few days."

"Even so, My Lady, it might be different this time. Everyone seems to regard Lady Lapis as their leader. Maybe they won't care."

Black touched Pearl's short hair and finally turned from the stars. "I hope they won't." And she carried Pearl and laid down in bed, where both receded into a dark and dreamless sleep.


	14. Chapter 14

The morning light accentuated the bags beneath Black's eyes as she sat by the window. The sun broke across the ocean and her stone reflected the same colors. In that moment, she didn't bother to cover it, even if the twinkling caused her lashes to flutter.

Only when she heard the cracking of Pearl's bones as she stretched did Black begin to dress. She wrapped the long blue fabrics around herself and once Pearl had awoken, she helped her dress as well. Carefully, Black looped each long stretch around Pearl and tied knots at her shoulder and waist before both walked quietly downstairs and found Lady Lapis waiting for them.

The woman had sat upon the sofa in the parlor attached to the main room, eating slices of carefully peeled oranges. She finished just as her guests reached the bottom step.

"Good morning," Lady Lapis greeted them. "Will you two be ready to go after breakfast?"

"Actually, Lady Lapis…" Black Diamond placed her palms together. "Would you happen to have any veils Pearl and I could borrow?"

"Veils?" She narrowed her eyes. "I do have some I could loan you, but I'd surely like to know why."

Neither of the pair answered. They looked at one another before Black Diamond spoke. "I don't want any of the Quartzes to recognize me."

"Hmm," something in her face softened, but she wore a strange grin. "I suspect that you aren't who you say you are."

Black did not reply.

Lady Lapis continued, "It's not easy to see, but from certain angles, your pupils are quite square, and the last gem I've seen as tall as you was White Diamond."

Black couldn't look at her host any longer, and Pearl took one of her hands. "Would it be too much to ask you not to tell anyone?"

"No," Lady lapis stated. "I won't tell anyone. I don't want you leaving anyway, not when my wife is still sick. I have to say, I'm relieved that you're probably not some kind of criminal, but I do want to know why you're pretending to be a Coal. The other one was perfectly happy to stomp in here and declare her status, but you—you're different."

Black Diamond sighed. "I hate it when they worship me. I've seen so many gems drop to the ground when they find out, even though I've done nothing to deserve their praise."

"I can understand that. Whenever anyone grovels to me I ask them to stop, but I'm just another Lapis." She moved towards the stairs. "It's probably different for you, being a Diamond. I'm sure they can't help themselves, but I bet if you stayed in one place long enough and established how you want to be treated, they would listen." The gold upon her cheeks glimmered as the morning light grew brighter. "I don't know what you've been through, but I find that if you're patient, they usually try their best, and you seem patient to me."

"Thank you."

"I'll get you and Pearl veils to wear, but if they've seen you before they're probably going to find out. Even without looking at your face, you're pretty recognizable."

"I know." Black Diamond's brows wilted. "But I'd still like to try."

"Alright. I'll show you the backroads as well. You'll be less likely to run into them."

"I appreciate that. Thank you."

Lady Lapis finally turned and ascended the stairs while both Black and Pearl breathed out all of their air. After the travelers had obscured their faces beneath even more blue fabric, the three left together, taking the backroads.

That morning, the town bustled with noise and activity, now that White Diamond's army of Quartz soldiers had come to help. Black passed a few of them, even on the unfamiliar path, though they were occupied rebuilding sections of the white and blue buildings. A few of them, Lapises and Quartzes alike, turned to look at the tall and shadowy figure walking by, curious at both her height and her Pearl, but followed no longer once she walked far enough away.

Eventually, Lady Lapis left them at the medical tent, where the healers had already gone to work with their new supplies. Only about half of the patients remained compared to when Black and Pearl first arrived.

They started immediately, creating their mixture and using the surplus of fresh gauze to heal the remaining wounds and ease the lingering pain. Once Black had produced her smoke, Pearl continued replacing the bandages. The Lapises observed this ritual, and they too began to help dressing wounds while Pearl made the mixture and Black Diamond used her powers.

All of the gems worked as though they were inside a factory. By noon, each patient had their cuts addressed and covered, and by four, no more remained. They had all stood, popped off their casts, and flew away.

Once the last Lapis had gone, the healers formed a ring around Black Diamond. They covered her on every side with a circular hug which she attempted to return, despite only having two arms. Pearl, too, invaded the ring to embrace Black Diamond, who started to laugh.

"Thank you, everyone."

"No, thank _you_ , Miss Coal."

"We couldn't have done it without you."

"You're amazing!" (That was Pearl.)

"Oh, stop. It would have gone much more slowly without all of you. Thank you."

Every one of them held one another moments longer before the healers stepped back to look at Black Diamond. One of them asked, "Well, what will you do now, Miss Coal?"

"You don't need to stay here any longer if you don't want to."

"It's not that I don't want to," Black Diamond began to adjust her veil over her face to a chorus of confused looks. "But I think I should return to Lady Lapis's home. Her wife might need me."

"Oh, yes. She's very pregnant."

"You should help her."

"If you don't mind, may I take a few supplies with me?" Black had finished her disguise and Pearl began to adjust hers.

"Yes, we have so many now."

The healers loaded a bag of herbs for Black Diamond, picking out many of them by themselves. Each vial that entered the sack came with a mumbled note of what effect it would have; 'this one helps with the swelling'; 'this one will help her to sleep'; 'this one will reduce her morning sickness,' and so on.

Black and Pearl waved as they walked away, and the vials chattered amongst one another.

After that day, they stopped going to the medical tent on the other side of town. Lady Lapis had even come home that evening and set her hands on her hips upon finding them.

She wore a rare smile as she said, "So I heard you healed all the patients at the hospital."

They had met in the hallway, as the Lady had come to visit her wife.

"I was delighted when I heard the news, but I wasn't surprised. I hope this doesn't mean you're going to leave."

"No, Lady Lapis, unless you don't wish us to stay any longer."

"Of course I want you to stay." Her eyes maintained their edge, but somehow lessened in severity, like a gleaming knife that had been sheathed. "I wish I could let you both take some time off, but I have to ask you another favor."

"Certainly."

Before speaking, Lady Lapis crossed her arms and came closer. Her voice lowered in volume. "I'm sure you've noticed, but my wife is due any day now. Will you at least stay with her until she gives birth? I don't know how long you intended on being here, but we would appreciate your help just a little while longer."

"We'll stay and help, thank you."

"I wish the other one was more like you, but I'm still glad you came to us, for whatever reason. Thank you, Black Diamond, and thank you, Pearl."

She didn't wait for a response and moved to her bedroom, where her wife made a happy greeting the guests heard in the halls.

Black turned to Pearl. "Sometimes I wish I were more like the other one. It seems like more gems would be satisfied with that."

Pearl frowned and followed her lady downstairs.

From then on, they watched over the pregnant woman.

Each day, Black Diamond and Pearl would greet her inside her room. Pearl would prepare an elixir to keep the pain at bay and Black Diamond would steal the discomfort that had come in the night, repeating the procedure every couple of hours.

Despite the frequent attention from her attendants, the woman stayed confined to her bed. She might come downstairs to take her meals, but mostly slept as her stomach grew somehow rounder despite its near perfect status.

When she woke, her lovely golden eyes would toss themselves from the open window and into the light. Her brows furrowed just about any time a carefree cloud passed by, swimming through the light blue sky the way a boat would drift over a wave.

Black Diamond and Pearl found her alone one morning, awake and staring out the window. She crossed her arms over her stomach as the sunshine occupied several tiles on the floor.

"Good morning, Lapis." Black Diamond had parted the door and knocked on the frame before coming inside. "How are you?"

Her attention stayed glued to the sunshine as she inflated with a sigh. She pushed her messy hair behind one of her ears before finally answering, "I'm fine, Miss Coal. How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you."

"And you, Pearl?"

"I'm fine, Madame. Thank you."

They came and went about their tasks; Pearl made an elixir while Black Diamond numbed the pain, but she didn't look at either throughout the process. Her fingers only moved to collect the occasional tear that fell onto her cheek as she focused on the light blue sky.

"I'm sorry," she finally said.

"Why is that?" Black Diamond pulled her hands away as Pearl presented the pregnant woman with the potion. "I don't see what you have to be sorry about."

"I guess I don't want you thinking I'm angry with you."

"I don't think either one of us thought that."

"We just want you to feel okay, Madame."

Listening to Black and Pearl's response, Lapis set her hands on her stomach and observed the bands of gold stretched across it. They appeared stressed as they reached out for one another. Perhaps there was a time they used to touch.

"I want to go to the beach," she said. "I haven't gone since I've been bed-ridden, and more than ever, I feel like that's where I should be." A few more tears escaped. "But I can't fly and I can't walk and I'm just so bored, sleeping all day."

Black Diamond touched her hand. "I'd be happy to accompany you, if we could find a means to go. I could have…someone carry you."

"That sounds nice, but I don't want to trouble you. That, and I don't think I _should_ go."

"It's really no trouble, but I understand how you feel. Just know that if you changed your mind and are well enough, I'd be happy to take you. It's not that far away, is it?"

"No, but don't tempt me." Her smile showed a few teeth. "You're a saint, Miss Coal, but I really shouldn't. I only felt this awful within a few days of the last time I gave birth, so I'm sure I'll go into labor soon."

"I understand. Do you need anything else at the moment?"

"No, but thank you. If you could just go downstairs and make sure you and Pearl have an excellent breakfast, I'll be satisfied."

"Thank you, Madame."

After that, the rest of their day mirrored the ones before, until it faded into the deceptive calm of night. Both of them lay in stillness as the evening darkened and the moon moved further overhead. The hours passed and the pair descended into sleep, before awakening at about four in the morning due to noise outside.

"Honey, what are you doing out here?"

Neither Black Diamond nor Pearl heard the answer.

"You should come back to bed. I don't want you to be exhausted tomorrow."

A long pause ensued. "What does it matter? I'm not going to do anything anyway."

"Are you just going to stand here?"

"That's what I feel like doing."

A sigh, and then, "I worry about you when you get this way. I wish you would come inside."

"I wish you would just let me stand here in peace."

"Okay then."

A door slammed, and Black Diamond jumped while Pearl cuddled in closer.

When they checked on the lady the next morning, she didn't turn her head to greet them, nor did she move at all. She merely lay unconscious beneath her blankets.

Each day began to follow a similar pattern. They might hear a slight amount of bickering during the night, and would come to an unconscious woman in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Black Diamond and Pearl left her with a vial of elixir on the bedside table and stole her pain as she slept. Her eyes didn't open when they removed the blankets nor did they open when they put them back. Whenever they arrived, the vial would be empty and waiting for replacement.

Lady Lapis began to stay home and watch over her daughter when she didn't sit at her wife's bedside. She only left occasionally to manage her city, and many times, her gems would come to her to talk about funds, progress, and problems. During these meetings, Lady Lapis usually held her daughter in her lap, who squirmed and cried in boredom. If a Quartz ever came, Black Diamond and Pearl would hide deep inside their room, away from the window and its transparency.

Days expired in silence until one night went devoid of an argument. All parties slept as the darkness produced its regular noises, such as the occasional flutter of a nocturnal creature's wings or the wind's short song anytime it whistled past a window.

Only when the morning came did Lady Lapis shatter the house's sleep. She shook Black violently out of bed, which woke Pearl in turn.

"My wife is missing!"

Black Diamond shook off her dreams.

"She must have gone to the beach! That's what she was talking about yesterday! Get dressed—grab your supplies—we need to leave now—" Lady Lapis wore her pajamas. She had yet to put on her crown and even the gold foil upon her cheeks gleamed duller than usual, as if it too had yet to wake.

All three threw themselves together and ran outside, past Lady Lapis's screaming daughter in the hands of her servant. "Watch over her," was all she commanded as the party passed by, spilling into the streets like a flood from a perturbed ocean.

They sped through the city paths, past the workers standing in the way. Despite her size, Lady Lapis cleared the way, racing and occasionally summoning her wings by accident, only to realize her companions couldn't fly and frantically put them away. She looked back to Black Diamond and Pearl every few seconds to make certain they followed. Any time the clinking of their bottles of medicine grew too quiet, she tossed them her crazy gaze and slowed down only a step.

With every gem they passed, the party collected lengthy stares. Black Diamond's fingers fidgeted constantly with her poorly arranged veil, but between her hasty movement and the ocean wind, it fell around her neck constantly. A rainbow of multicolored eyes clung to her visage—blue, and gold, silver, grey, and black. Whenever they arrived to glance at the features she attempted to hide, she hoisted the cloth over her face, but the curiosity still chased her, until all three of them left one onlooker's sight for another's.

The staring went on until the sea grew louder and the air smelt of salt. The buildings stopped where the sand began and just a short way onto the beach stood a small crowd.

Lady Lapis made her wings and flew directly overhead, landing near the collection of blue women, and spattering sand and water with the heels of her bare feet. Black Diamond and Pearl ran to catch up. By then, the others had cleared a path to allow the outsiders in, and to catch a glimpse of the woman in the middle.

She had a healer from the hospital holding one of each of her hands, encouraging her to push. Her entire body tensed violently as she squeezed and made the fingers in her grasp turn white. With each push, she cried and tossed her head back beneath a coating of sweat and tears.

Lady Lapis replaced one of the healers and allowed her wife to ruin her hand instead.

" _I need—_ "

At the woman's side sat a half-empty bottle of water, which Black Diamond herself picked up and brought to the mother's lips. Between surges, she drank heavily while Pearl wiped the film from her brow and everyone in the crowd encouraged her.

"Just a little more! I can see her head!"

The mother shouted in anguish and broke her wife's hand. Releasing the healer's, she stole the bottle from Black Diamond and slammed the rest of it as her entire body made one final push and one final scream. The cry ended as she collapsed backward and started anew as one of the healers placed a tiny blue baby inside her exhausted arms.

"Honey!" Lady Lapis covered her mouth with both hands and released hot tears. "Why did you come all the way out here? I almost had a heart attack when I couldn't find you this morning!"

The woman's eyes blinked slowly as she cradled her child. "I don't know. I went outside last night and started to wander until I ended up here." The healers cleaned the newborn, who only managed to scream a little less, revealing bands of gold across her skin. "I don't know why, but it felt right. As soon as I came close to the beach, I went into labor. I don't know. I didn't feel this way last time…"

"That's okay." Lady Lapis wiped her tears. "We're all here now, and look at her. She's so small."

"Do you want to hold her?"

"Of course."

The baby hollered as she changed hands and her mother laid back in the sand. The healers took her pulse and checked her vitals, as Black stole her agony and Pearl cleaned her brow.

"Madame," Pearl spoke over the chatter and confirmation that the mother was alright.

"What is it, Pearl?"

"You have tears in your eyes."

"Oh—" Black wiped them.

Slowly after that, she, Pearl, Lady Lapis, and her wife and child headed back to the mansion. The party of three had grown to five, and with the woman in her strong arms, Black Diamond looked occasionally to the newborn.

"Life is amazing, isn't it?" The mother spoke with a tired voice.

"It really is."


	15. Chapter 15

A few days passed and Black Diamond and Pearl remained inside Lady Lapis's home to help with the newborn. The mother was still recovering from giving birth, and while all the gems in the city completed the final touches and reparations, Black and Pearl stole away the final pangs of the woman's pain.

One afternoon, when nearly the entire mansion had collapsed into collective naptime, Black Diamond sat awake on the floor of her room, having unfurled an old scroll of ancient spells. Pearl slept as a little lump beneath the covers and the only sounds inside the room were her snoring and the whispering of the parchment as Black Diamond read. Just as she reached over to roll up the portion she had read, a few footsteps drew her eye to the partially open door where she found the eldest daughter passing by.

The child had set four fingers in her mouth again as her short legs took her through the halls. She had made it past the staircase's uppermost step when Black Diamond poked her head out of her room and watched. She kept travelling forward until pushing open a door further down the hall with a creak. Just as she disappeared, Black Diamond left her chamber and followed the same path. Her feet never made more than a few quiet taps until she silently glanced past the threshold and found the girl standing near her little sister's crib.

She had put her hands on the bars and breathed loudly as she stood upon the tips of her toes. Between two of the wooden rods, she slipped part of her face through, and with one eye wide open, she watched her sister sleep, surrounded by pillows to keep her from rolling away.

Black Diamond came in and stood at her side. The girl didn't move until Black said, "She's so tiny, isn't she?" In response, she fell backward, and with her golden eyes widened in shock, immediately put her hand back into her mouth.

"I'm sorry I scared you," Black Diamond whispered. "I wanted to see her too. What do you think of her? Do you like your baby sister?"

The little creature regained her footing and nodded slowly. Her gaze never broke with Black Diamond's. She didn't even blink.

"I like her too. Do you think she's cute?"

Her head bobbled again as her curious sight moved from Black's forehead to her toes.

"Well, if you want to see her better, I can lift you up. I'm very tall. Do you want to see from here?"

A smile broke across her face from her pinky to her index finger, but she looked away.

"Little one, do you want me to lift you?"

"Yeah," she nodded, and laughed as Black Diamond took her about ten feet into the air.

" _Shh_ , we can't wake her, okay? Your mommies are sleeping too. And if she wakes up, they're going to come in here, and then they're going to say, 'who woke the baby?'"

The girl grinned and hid her laughter behind her hands—neither of which occupied her mouth anymore. Eventually, she calmed and looked down at her sister from the balcony of Black Diamond's arms. Mumbling quietly at the back of her throat, she sighed and said: "She's small."

"She _is_ small. Do you know you were that small once too?"

She smiled again. "Yeah..."

"Yes, but one day she'll be as big as you."

The girl turned to look at Black with her eyes at one hundred percent roundness. She wore a little confusion just as her finger wore a little drool, and the Diamond explained, "She's going to grow bigger, and you're going to grow bigger too. Maybe you'll grow as big as me one day."

The little Lapis laughed while Black smiled and quieted her, and they kept the stillness after that.

For several minutes, both watched as the tiny girl slept. She had been swaddled to near immobility, but still expanded every time she drew in a breath. Sometimes she shifted and tangled her surprising head of thick blue hair, and then occasionally opened her mouth wide only to leave it there for several long seconds. Black Diamond prevented her giggles from gaining any voice, and the child looked on without much of a reaction either way. After a while, she attempted to get down, and Black set her gently upon the floor. Then she ran away and Black stayed a moment longer to observe at the sleeping baby. She placed her palm upon her chest before finally going back to reading her scroll.

About an hour later, everyone woke up and began preparing for dinner, which prompted Lady Lapis to knock on the door and stick her crazy head in. Black Diamond stretched like a cat upon standing up.

"Hello, Lady Lapis."

"Hello. I've come to ask you how you want your potatoes."

"May I have them fried?"

"Certainly. And Pearl?"

"She'd probably like them fried too, thank you."

"Note taken. Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes." With that, Lady Lapis disappeared and Black Diamond went to pester Pearl.

Gently, she rolled back the blankets and found Pearl beneath them, coiled into a ball with her knees drawn into her stomach. With the sudden influx of cool air, she grumbled before Black Diamond left an obnoxious kiss on one side of her face. The contact created a lot of noise, but the author of this chaos didn't stop, even when she began to shake with laughter.

"Madame, I was sleeping…"

Black Diamond didn't pull away.

" _No…I don't want your kisses._ "

She merely made more and Pearl grumbled louder.

" _Stop_ …"

"Okay," Black released her, "But dinner is going to be ready soon."

Pearl looked at her with unspoken salt, and stretched beneath the blankets. She cleaned the sleep from her lashes and settled briefly back against the bed. "You look happy, My Lady. I have to admit, things didn't turn out too badly here. I'm sorry I doubted you."

"Oh, Pearl." Black Diamond set her hand upon Pearl's head. "You weren't the only one doubting me. I couldn't be sure of the outcome either, but I'm glad that things happened the way they did."

"Are we—" Pearl's face darkened a few shades. "How long do you think we'll stay?"

"I'm not sure. I wouldn't mind being here a while longer, but…" Black turned her face toward the window as the dimming, pastel light spread itself across the room.

"Are you worried they're going to find out?"

"It feels as though it's only a matter of time, but I'm enjoying being Coal again. I'm trying to decide if we should leave before it's too late, but to where? There aren't any other places I know of where the gems aren't aware of my identity. We've reached the ocean, and I'm not sure where to go from here."

As she looked out the window, and the voices from a few of the Lapises in town echoed, Black Diamond smoothed her long fingers through Pearl's soft hair. "I'm beginning to think that perhaps you were right, and I might just need to accept the fact I emerged a Diamond, but it was nice to pretend for a while."

"My Lady, I'm glad you're a Diamond." Pearl's thin brows bent, and she continued, "I don't think I would exist if you were anyone else."

Black leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. "Well, if my being a Diamond means that you get to exist, I'm glad I am too. It's hard to imagine my life without you in it."

"My Lady," Pearl's eyes grew a little wide before clasping shut as she sniffed.

"Oh, I didn't mean to make you cry! I'm sorry." Black Diamond kissed her again and only drew out more tears. To comfort her, she stole Pearl from the sheets and held her close until she stopped, at which point she set her down flat upon her feet.

"Come on." Black Diamond cleared the tears from her own cheeks and stood to her full height. "Let's go downstairs. I asked for your potatoes to be fried by the way."

"You know me so well, My Lady."

By the time they had gone downstairs, the entire first floor had filled with the smell of cooked meat, fried potatoes, and various spices. The dining room table held numerous bowls of sliced fruit and pitchers of dark iced tea.

"Miss Coal, Pearl—" The mother Lapis had left her room and fed her baby beneath the blanket while her eldest daughter stood by, watching. "Please take a seat."

"Thank you, Madame. How are you feeling?"

"I'm doing much better, thanks to you and Pearl. I did sleep for a long time today, but I needed it after this one kept me up all night." She indicated the child at her breast. "How are you two?"

"We're doing very well, Madame. Thank you for allowing us to relax here."

"Of course. You were such a godsend before my youngest came along. Your potions are still helping too."

"We're glad. Thank you."

At that point, Lady Lapis came and placed a hand upon her wife's shoulder and kissed her cheek. "Miss Coal," she said, "There's a celebration going on in town tonight because we've finally finished the major repairs. I don't think either of us will be able to make it, but you and Pearl are welcome to go. I imagine a few of the healers are going to be there, so you'll at least know someone."

"Oh," Black Diamond looked to Pearl. "That sounds lovely. If Pearl wants to go, then I'll go too."

Pearl asked, "Will there be wine?"

Both Lady Lapis and her wife laughed. "Of course. My people know how to party. There's probably going to be music and dancing as well."

Pearl stared directly at Black as she bit her bottom lip.

Black Diamond held back her mirth. "Alright then. I guess we'll go."

Pearl beamed and everyone laughed as the servants brought out the main course. Lady Lapis, her daughter, and her maidens took their seats. Once served, each of them began eating, plates brimming with bounty.

"These potatoes are excellent. Thank you, Lady Lapis."

"You like them? Here," she took a spoonful from the bowl of fried potatoes and created a mountain upon Black Diamond's plate. "You're awfully big. Do you want more?"

"Oh, no. This is perfect."

Lady Lapis stared at her, and without breaking eye contact, spooned more onto her plate. "You don't need to be modest." She buried the business end of the utensil back into the bowl and kept staring at her guest.

"I'm fine. Thank you."

"I'd like some more potatoes, Lady Lapis."

"Excellent!" She practically cracked her neck in looking at Pearl. "Here you are."

"Thank you!"

The mother shook with laughter she attempted to subdue to prevent upsetting her infant. "All of you are ridiculous."

"Honey, if you want more potatoes, you only need to ask."

"Keep those away from me. I know where you sleep."

Dinner concluded with no potatoes leftover and both of the travelers preparing for the party. Black Diamond waited by the door as Pearl prepared upstairs, watching as one mother helped the other to her room and their eldest daughter followed. Once her wife made it to bed, Lady Lapis came back downstairs, arms crossed yet again, and stood next to the tallest woman in the house.

Both stayed put for a few seconds.

"I wanted to tell you," Lady Lapis began, "I appreciate all the help you've given us, and also that you're welcome to stay in my city as long as you like."

Black Diamond gasped. "Oh, Lady Lapis—"

"If you decide to stay, I would set up a place for you and Pearl to live, as well as monthly pay to help the healers and anyone who's hurt. You're welcome to think about it, of course, and you have my word that I'll do my part to keep your secret, but the more I consider it, the more handy you seem to have around."

"Thank you," she drew in a breath before the next words came and met up with the wild eyes burning a hole into the side of her face. "White Diamond does come here sometimes, doesn't she?"

"Now that she owns the place."

"I'm sorry about that."

"It's not your fault. I appreciate her help in rebuilding. She didn't have to do that, but then again, she started this fight in the first place. Anyway, you wouldn't have to come out if she comes here. Unless she's looking for you and demands to see you. I'm sorry, but I can't let her tear this city apart twice."

"I understand. I would reveal myself before any harm would come. I'm a guest, after all."

"Hmm," Beneath the bar of her crossed arms, Lady Lapis released her air. "I appreciate that we're seeing eye-to-eye. Well, think about it, and even if you decide against staying indefinitely, you're always welcome here."

"Thank you, Lady Lapis. That's very kind of you."

"Well, you helping my wife was very kind. I just want to see my family happy and healthy. My people too. Once Pearl is ready, I'll walk both of you to the party. It's at the beach." Briefly, she went upstairs just as Pearl came down, wearing powder around her eyes and rouge upon her cheeks (or perhaps noir). Pearl hid slightly beneath her borrowed blue veil and Lady Lapis touched her on the shoulder as she travelled upward.

"I'm going to say goodbye to my wife. We'll head out in a minute."

"Oh, yes. Thank you, Madame."

Black Diamond too put on a veil, and the three of them walked to the bonfire on the beach, where a group of Lapises and a few of White's Quartzes had gathered.

None of the warriors seemed to recognize her. They glanced at her, curiously, like the other gems, and aside from marveling at her impressive height, said nothing of it.

"Have fun, Miss Coal." Lady Lapis touched her on the arm. "If you're not sure how to get back, just walk down that way. You'll come to my house eventually."

Lady Lapis walked away and the music began in earnest. One of the Lapises handed Black Diamond and Pearl a warm cup of wine each, with an orange wedge on the edge.

"Pearl, please don't drink too much," her palm landed flat upon her head. "I'm going to sit over there for a while."

"Oh, I'll try not to, My Lady. You didn't come here just for my sake, did you?"

Black Diamond tousled some of Pearl's hair. "Perhaps, but it's a nice evening, so I'm glad to be out."

"Well, I think you should dance, My Lady, but thank you for coming with me."

"Of course, Pearl, and perhaps I will. I'm simply not ready to dance yet, but maybe after a little more wine."

Pearl laughed and bid her Diamond goodbye before joining the party. The other gems welcomed her and she began a conversation with a tall Quartz and a short Lapis maintained between sips of wine. The soldier—who looked like a Jasper—frequently chuckled using her entire body; her stomach rumbled and her shoulders shook, while the Lapis talked with her hands and expressed joy at a higher pitch. Pearl seemed to ask them both several questions and prompted either of them to speak for long amounts of time. They even came to touch her on the shoulders or tap her on the arm, just before the dancing began.

Sitting in the sand, Black Diamond drank her wine and sieved her fingers through the grains while the ocean sighed steps before her. The moon shined full overhead and she watched the waves lap up the shore, creating flowing brush strokes across its surface, while the white and silver evening light only afflicted the ever-changing crests.

Black looked back to the party and its fire in the center. The shadows from the dancing gems interrupted its light everytime the beat sounded, which synced up to the waves.

Black Diamond leaned back, drank another sip of wine, and looked into the dark blue sky with its royal purple clouds. They obscured a few of those bright constellations, but just as she drank another mouthful, she caught a light moving through the sky like a shooting star; however, it didn't fly quite fast enough and nearly disappeared at certain angles. Only when the glowing entity approached and Black Diamond could make out the shape of a dragon's face did the party begin screaming and running from the bonfire. The Quartzes, however, aligned themselves and bowed while Pearl panicked and came running to her lady, clinging to her leg.

Black set an arm around her as the air hitched in her throat. Both of them froze as the silver creature descended from the navy heavens and landed upon the sand.

Luna kicked up a storm as her feet crashed into the beach and extinguished the fire.

"My Diamond," the chorus of Quartzes greeted their empress as she dismounted her dragon.

"Good evening, Soldiers." Despite killing the fire's light, White reflected the color of the moon, upright like a marble statue in a crème gown, embellished by silver rings and clasps that glared even beneath the heavens' gentle glow. Her arrow-sharp eyes locked onto Black, who clutched Pearl as breath nearly steamed from her lungs.

"Good evening, Miss Coal."

"What do you want, White Diamond?" Black had nearly picked up Pearl and ran, but held her ground.

"I want to talk."

The soldiers looked up at the mysterious Coal and her servant. Black sighed and approached White, standing near enough so that both the army members and the Lapises watching from behind a nearby building could compare their height.

"I don't want to talk here, My Diamond." Black nearly spit out the last two words.

"Then where would you like to talk?"

"Down the beach. Please stay here, Pearl."

"Yes, Ma'am." She arranged herself in line with the soldiers as one Diamond followed the other along the ocean's lips.

Black walked quickly. " _Why can't you understand that I want to be left alone?_ No one knew when I arrived, but now they're sure to figure it out, since you _had_ to find me." She hadn't stopped walking.

Nor did White stop following. "I see that you're still angry with me."

"Should I be happy to see you?"

"It wouldn't hurt."

Black stopped and glared at White, who only kicked up a little sand with the force of her feet. " _What do you want?_ "

"I came here to check on you. A few of my Quartzes said they believed they had spotted you—"

"No, what do you want _with me?_ "

White drew in a breath and let it out, without much discernible change in expression. "I want you to come back with me."

" _Still?_ "

"Of course."

" _Why?_ "

"Black, don't tell me you're really so dense." White turned and watched the waves for a moment before accosting Black Diamond with her silver stare. "We're the only two, and I'd prefer it if we work together. As a Diamond, it's inappropriate for you to live in the wild—"

"Says you. Just because you're a Diamond doesn't mean you're allowed to make the rules for how the rest of us live. I'll dictate my lifestyle, even if all of your arbitrary rules have made it unnecessarily difficult. Even before we had met, they expected me to act like you—"

"Then wouldn't you say it's fate? It sounds to me like I've been a part of your life before you even emerged."

Black clenched her fists and resisted the scream boiling up to her nose.

White laughed. "I'm not saying that you should act the same way I do. All angles considered, I think that would be for the worse. What I am saying is that there's no reason for you to live like a beggar, or pretend you aren't a Diamond like it's something to be ashamed of. They would have found out anyway. That Lapis certainly did."

The ocean rolled in again, crashed upon the sand, and left foam and spent shells in the aftermath.

"How did you know about that?"

"She sent me your way."

"She—" Black furrowed her brows as another wave rumbled.

"I'm going to be blunt. If you had stayed in your village, I would have found you and asked you to marry me. That was my plan before you went missing, after all. I'm sure you're not too crazy about the idea now, given everything that's happened, but I'd appreciate if you would allow me a chance. If you decide you still hate me, you're welcome to leave, but maybe this time you can give me at least a few days instead of just one night. We barely spoke the last time you were at the palace."

A few beads of cool sweat rolled along Black's face. Her fingers still bent from when she had clenched them. "You…wanted to marry me?"

"Yes."

"Before we had even met?"

"Yes, Black Diamond. Even before I knew what a damned hippy you are, and I'd still like to give it a try, eventually. I don't need you giving me that murderous look of yours when we're lying in the same bed, but perhaps I can eschew your anger by redeeming myself. We could have that conversation at a later date."

"I—" All of the stars reflected briefly in the water before the movement washed their images away. The clouds shifted with the wind and revealed the previously hidden clusters and constellations, and Black glanced back to those two silver lights that hadn't moved away from her since they had began talking. "I don't know what to say to that. Why would you want to get married?"

White tilted her head and nearly rolled her eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you that we're the only two?"

"But…what if there's another Diamond out there?"

"Perhaps there is, but I don't intend to wait that long. As for today and as for right now, it's just us. Now that I've finally found you and have your attention, I'm going to be up-front." White didn't avert her gaze for a second, nor did Black, but she did almost lose her breath beneath the spotlight of White's eyes. "Please consider coming to me. I'm going to leave Luna here and if you like, you and Pearl can take her to the palace. If not, all you need to do is pat her on the back leg and she'll fly back to me by herself. If later on, you decide you want to live with me, you're welcome to come at any time, but the trip is much faster if you have a dragon."

Black set her silence into the sand and swallowed the sentence fragments in her throat. "Are you going to stay here overnight?"

"No. I thought you'd probably like to think about it alone. I'm going to return home."

Black gave her a look.

"I'm very fast."

"I suppose so." Black crossed her arms and rolled her lips.

White said nothing more and regarded the waves, blinking only a few times with her dramatic lashes.

"I understand where you're coming from, but…if I ever considered marrying you, I'd want to love you first. Everything you've said—it's overwhelming."

White's voice came out more softly. "I'm not asking for you to marry me any time soon. I'm asking you to give me a chance, and perhaps, eventually, we can marry. We'll discuss your role at the palace if you decide to come, and I'll try to make it as painless as possible for you."

Black skinned her bottom lip.

"I'll do my best to keep you happy. You have my word."

"Just so you can maybe marry me one day?"

White nearly turned and left. "You and I are the only gems without a family. We don't have a tribe, and we don't have any one village, but it doesn't need to be that way." She began to walk away. "I hope I'll see you soon, Black Diamond, and blue isn't a terrible color on you, but I think you would look better in gold."

Just as she opened her mouth to raise her voice, White moved in a flash and appeared before Luna, said a few words to her, and made a blur again, this time disappearing down the street as the Quartzes finally stood back up and the Lapises came back out.

Every last one of them looked directly at her, speechless. Even Pearl didn't dare break the silence by raising her voice and kept her words clasped between her teeth. Black Diamond touched Luna on the chin and stared back at the crowd.

"I'm sorry she interrupted your party. Please continue."

Luna chirped as she followed Black and her Pearl down the street, all three moving without words.

Pearl didn't bother asking, but took her Lady's hand as they returned to the mansion, perhaps for the last time.


	16. Chapter 16

The next morning, Black Diamond sat at the window as Pearl slept quietly in bed. Occasionally, the sheets would rise and fall over her, expanding every time she inhaled. Black would watch for a few seconds before glancing outside again. The day began to break, and with each new color that blossomed in response to the sunlight, Black peeled a small stretch of skin from her lips. Her fingernails picked as her thoughts twisted inside her stomach.

Luna slept outside. Curled up like a cat, she breathed in and out slowly as her pretty scales reflected the sunlight. At certain angles she appeared silver, and at others, she shimmered the hues of the rainbow.

After about fifteen minutes of sunrise and bloodied lips, a knock at the door drew Black Diamond's attention, so she turned to find Lady Lapis's wife standing in the doorframe. The little woman had set a delicate arm over her chest while her mouth curved inward, until finally, she said, "Good morning, My Diamond."

Black shook her head and looked out the window. "Not you too."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Madame. Would you like me to go?"

"No, not at all," Black turned to her again. "But you don't need to call me 'My Diamond.' How did you find out?"

"Well, when White came here last night, looking for you, I pieced it together. My wife and I talked about it too. She said you didn't want anyone knowing, but…" She paused, casting her gaze to the floor. "I'm worried that I've offended you. After I gave birth you carried me home and you've called me 'Madame' the entire time, and—" she cut herself off.

"It's okay," Black filled in the space. "I didn't mind doing any of those things, and you haven't offended me." She regarded the town again, and Lapis moved a few steps closer.

"Madame, are you alright? You seem troubled."

Black Diamond's nightgown shuffled softly as she adjusted her stance. "I _am_ troubled."

Lapis trembled, a ripe question waiting against her teeth.

"White Diamond asked me to come back with her last night. She wants me to live in the palace so that we might marry one day." Black drew in a breath. "She asked me to give her a chance and she seemed genuine, but…"

"It's a big decision." Lapis spoke and covered her mouth afterward, blushing in royal blue.

Black cracked a smile, "Yes, it is a big decision," and regarded the floor. "Maybe it's time to accept that I'm a Diamond. I've been running all these years and yet, everyone found out. Perhaps I could be a good wife to her. She could be a good wife to me, and I could become a mother..."

Lapis offered a kind smile and gathered a few words. "I think you would be a great mother, Madame."

"Truly?"

"Truly," she rolled her lips a little more, as if warming them up. "If you decide to live with her, and things don't work out, you're always welcome here. My wife and I would love to have you back, but I understand the temptation." She waited a moment before continuing. "I love being a mother, and I'm fortunate that I was able to have not one baby, but two. I don't know if you feel the same, but I wouldn't blame you for considering it. No matter what, we'll always appreciate what you've done for our family and our city."

Black grinned at her, but with bent brows. After a few seconds, she had to look away. "Thank you for allowing us to stay here as long as we have."

"Of course, Madame. You can stay as long as you like." They regarded one another a few seconds before a cry sprung up almost out of nowhere, but the mother turned the moment the sound began as if she had anticipated it. "Excuse me, My Diamond. It looks like she's awake and she's probably hungry."

"Not to worry. Thank you, Lapis."

To that, Lapis grinned and left the room to attend to her child.

Black Diamond looked at the sheets. "Pearl?"

The top layer flipped forward immediately. "Yes, ma'am?"

"I knew you were up."

Pearl responded by making a silly face. She squinted and stuck out her tongue.

"You're ridiculous," Black laughed until her gaze wandered again toward the sky. "So, I was thinking…"

"Are we going to move in with White?"

A pause ate up a few seconds. "I think I'd like to give it a try. I spent all night thinking about it, and perhaps she has a point. It might be nice to spend time with another Diamond, and if we hate it, we can leave."

"Whatever you want, My Lady. No matter where you'll go, I'll follow you."

Black embraced Pearl, and shortly after that, they packed their things. They had folded their borrowed blues upon the freshly made bed, then walked downstairs, creating footsteps that echoed within the silence. Upon arriving to the first floor, Black and Pearl found both wives sitting upon the couch, waiting.

Two sets of wild gold and deep blue eyes caught them as both stood, slowly and deliberately.

"Are you leaving then?" Lady Lapis said, unrelenting as usual.

"We are. Thank you again, for everything. We both enjoyed our time here."

"Thank you, Black Diamond," Both Lady Lapis and her wife approached, and the town's leader extended her hand for Black to shake. "I hope there are no hard feelings for last night."

"No," Black Diamond gave the Lady's fingers a small squeeze before letting go. "You kept your word, and White Diamond came looking for me. It was really only a matter of time. Even if she hadn't come, the others would have begun to figure it out anyway, with the Quartzes here." Despite something slightly sad still lingering in her voice, Black managed to look fully forward at Lady Lapis and her wife.

"You do have diamonds in your eyes."

"I can't deny that I do."

"Well, my offer still stands. You're welcome back whenever you like. I'll be sure my people treat you the way you want to be treated, and we'll have a place where you and Pearl can stay."

"Thank you, Lady Lapis, and thank you, Madame." Black Diamond leaned forward and shook hands with the queen and her wife—the latter of which blushed a deep and lovely blue.

"Oh, as if you would need to call me that. I'm sorry if I ever said anything inappropriate to you. I didn't know, but looking back on it now, it seems so ridiculous that I didn't piece it together. Thank you for coming to our city, Miss Black Diamond!"

All four of them spoke a while longer before waking Luna. As Black Diamond and Pearl approached, the dragon lifted her head and opened her mouth of sharp and terrifying teeth to yawn. She stretched her wings and waited as the gems said their goodbyes and Black and Pearl climbed upon her back. Black lifted Pearl first and boarded secondly herself, at which point, Luna stood to banish the sleep from her legs.

"Thank you both again!" Black Diamond held onto Pearl with one arm and waved with the other.

"Thank you, Black Diamond!" Lady Lapis merely raised her hand while her wife waved with a little more enthusiasm.

"Please come again, Madame!"

"We would love to! Goodbye!" At that point, Black patted Luna on her back leg and the dragon grunted, flapping her wings for takeoff. The pair kept waving while they picked up speed before Luna leapt into the air and flew. Black Diamond grasped Pearl close and held tightly to the reins. Both parties screamed, particularly when ascending higher and moving quicker. They practically touched the clouds, but from that great height, Black Diamond looked down and caught the passing sight of the desert and a few Lapises flying below them. Pearl continued to panic, holding onto her lady's arm until her own fingers turned white. The wind made speaking difficult, so Black Diamond kept her words to herself and watched as the rolling fields of green came into view.

They passed over thick forests and villages small and large of gems who would gather together and watch as they drifted overhead. They flew over impressive buildings and rolling farms of golden wheat, sometimes over lovely fields of purple and pink flowers that clustered together by color.

Eventually, Pearl stopped clutching so hard and dared to lean over and look at the passing landscape. She only observed for a moment, however, until going back to facing forward and securing her Diamond's arm.

The ride over went smoothly with Luna coasting on the currents of the wind and even gliding some of the way. She flew quietly, only needing to flap her wings occasionally, and within as little as two hours, they approached the capital and White Diamond's Palace upon the hill.

As the wind blew through her hair, Black Diamond's stomach twisted into several confusing knots. Pearl still held onto her, and Black grasped her just as tightly, one large hand squeezing her around the middle. Sometimes they looked at one another, unable to speak, but locking gazes for short seconds. Other times, both managed to focus on the passing landscape beneath them—the same land Black Diamond might someday co-own.

As Luna neared her home, Black found a small procession out front of milky Quartzes and pale Pearls. Upon spotting Luna, one of the soldiers went in, but the dragon didn't stop in front. She continued on until reaching the garden, at which point she dove down and landed, gracefully, amongst the plants and flowers.

Black Diamond took Pearl and stepped into the trim grass. Both shook slightly, and Black took a moment to rest her hand against the side of the dragon's face.

"Thank you, Luna. You're a good dragon."

The beast opened her mouth to release a small cloud of smoke, and just as she began to rub her face against Black Diamond's hand, the procession arrived through the back of the palace, playing their instruments.

"Welcome, Black Diamond!" They called to her, somewhat breathlessly, and took up their poses. The soldiers set down their drums and the Pearls played their flutes as the two guests looked to one another and back to the band. Just as Luna began to secure her snout into the heartlines of Black's hand, a certain sparkling claimed her vision.

Shining like a chandelier, White Diamond appeared in the overhead afternoon sun, casual robes billowing in the breeze. She stopped for a moment, before her servants and before the two gems arrived in the garden, and set her hands upon her hips.

Black Diamond looked to her—that statuesque woman composed of marble and muscle—and perceived every singular beat happening by the force of her heart.

The wind blew and its gentle influence barely affected either of them, but through it White moved forward as her focus accosted the new arrivals. An odd, but demure smile bent her lips upward. The servants stopped making their song, and where one might expect White to speak was instead a pause. Both Diamonds breathed slowly at a calculated rhythm where one exhaled and the other inhaled.

The breeze caressed the ends of their hair and White finally spoke, "Black Diamond, I'm glad you decided to come." She stepped forward and reached over to pet Luna along her snout. "She was supposed to land in front of the palace. I suppose she forgot."

Luna expressed another cloud before setting the end of her elegant face into White Diamond's palm. The dragon chirped as her master spoke again.

"How was your trip here?"

"It was…adventurous. We've never flown before. Thank you for allowing us to borrow Luna." Black looked at White. Part of her mouth went dry.

"It's hardly a problem. She doesn't mind." White took her hand away and the dragon followed it with her nose, causing Black Diamond and Pearl to laugh. In response, White smiled, though she broke it up immediately with her words, "I'm sure you're tired. Please come in. Lunch is waiting, and I've set up a room for you and Pearl."

"Thank you, White."

The new arrivals followed White into her palace, the structure as overwhelming as the first time. With their bags strapped to them, windblown and dressed in rags, Black Diamond and Pearl took each other's hands. Sometimes, White's luminous silver eyes would touch them, like a violent kiss upon the cheek, before going back to the scenery before her. Black could almost see the phantom of a grin upon her lips as the three of them progressed forward, together.


End file.
